NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
3 3433 08178479 9
,^J
^ J . SL^U
A HISTORY
OF
The Puget Sound Country
'S RESOURCES, ITS COMMERCE AND ITS PEOPLE
With some Reference to Discoveries and Explorations in North America
from the Time of Christopher Columbus Down to that of George
Vancouver in 1792, when the Beauty, Richness and Vast
Commercial Advantages of this Region Were
First Made Known to the World.
BY
Col. William Farrand Prosser
Ex- President of the Washington State Historical Society.
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
" Examine History, for it is Philosophy teaching by Experience."— Carlyle.
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
New York Chicago
i9°3
fd NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
241597A
ASTOR, LENOX AND
TfLDEN FOUNDATIONS
R 1026 L
INDEX.
Abel, Anthony M 356
Adams, Charles M 242
Adams, E. M 353
Aldrich, John F 438
Aldwell, Thomas T 355
Alexander. Hubbard F 164
Allen, William B 365
Armstrong, John H 458
Atkinson, < ieorge E 245
Austin, William A 374
B.
Baker. Frank R 200
Balkwill, Samuel R 166
Bar, Lawrence 121
Bardsley, William C 52r
Barlow, Byron 411
Barlow, Calvin S iq
Bartruff, David E 358
Bates, Charles 0 147
Bedford, Charles 384
Bell, George W 81
Bell, John M 526
Benson. Bertil W 399
Berry, John W 21
Bigelow, Harry A 302
Bingham, Charles E 294
Birge. George E 362
Blake, Almon C 363
Blattner, Frank S 101
Bordeaux, Thomas 64
Bothell, David C 163
Boyle, John L 352
Brackett, George 405
Bradley, Luther P 192
Bradley. William R 172
Branin, Alvertis 416
Brautigam, Phil 512
Brawley, Dewitt C 263
Bridges, Jesse B 404
Britton, George C 102
Brown, Arthur H 460
Brown, Neil 455
Brush, William 0 297
Bryan, Robert B 130
Burdick, Henry P 98
Burwell, Austin P 269
Bush, Newti m W 356
Butler, William C 357
Cain, George W 493
Cain, James 494
Calderhead, Samuel C 369
Calkins, D. D 195
Callvert, Stephen A 500
Campbell, Fremont 232
Campbell, Horace 398
Campbell, Louis D 176
Campbell, Richard P 513
Carman, Joseph L 491
Centralia Chronicle 463
Centralia News-Examiner 308
Chambers, James W 561
Chapman, Adam M 379
Chapman, William 0 171
Chehalis Bee-Nugget 290
Clark, Adelbert B 532
Clarke, William D 132
Cleaveland, Elisha B 451
Coady, Michael S 398
Coffman, Noah B 108
Coleman, John T 569
Collins, UMric L 211
Comeford, James P 462
Conrad. Chesley T 392
Cook. Ralph 314
Coon, Charles E 59
Corey. Merton H 219
Cotter, William D 453
Cowden, Harrison 180
Cox, Harvey R 276
Cox, William C 44
Crandall, Sidney G 99
Crawford. Ronald C 274
Crosby, Frank L 252
Cudihee, Edward 367
D.
Dalgleish, John W 450
Darling. Charles A 141
Davidson, Alpheus 133
Davis, George L 435
Davis, Henry C 48
Davis, James H 162
Davis. William H 380
Day, Edwin M 496
Deggaller, Edward 397
Denny. Arthur A 1
Denton, Marion G 199
DeSoto, Alexander 47
INDEX.
Devin, Henry L 251
Dickerson. William W 77
Dickinson, Harvey L 286
Draham, Mark H 5§
Drewry, David T 83
1 (reyer, Frank 437
Drum, Henry 96
Dumon, John H 122
Dunbar, Cyrus V 63
Dunbar, Ralph 0 134
Durrent, James A 155
Dysart, George 510
349
393
38i
170
Glen, Robert J
Glidden, Lewellin M 169
Gormley, Matt H 366
Green, George
Griffith, Luther H
Griggs, Herbert S
Grimm, S. Edwin 5S1
Gross Morris 214
Grove, James T 3°
Gunston, Malcolm E 202
H.
Earles, Michael 539
Eaton, William B 426
Edens. John J 468
Elder, James 495
Elliott, Henry S 19'
Ellison, David 347
Elstercit, August 346
Engle, Abraham W 145
Erbolm, Charles 261
Eshelman, James F _. . . 270
Evans, John 427
Everson, Ever 522
F.
Fairweather, William A 61
Faubert, Henry 66
Ferguson, David 328
Ferguson. Emory C 4°°
Ferry Museum 3°8
Fisher. George C 396
Fisk, Thomas P 187
Flemming, Thomas C 220
Forbes, John B 345
Foss, Louis 360
Fourtner, Samuel 86
Fowler, Charles R 3*9
Fowler, George W 243
Fowler, W. G 450
France, George W 528
Francis, T. P 375
Fratt, Charles D 312
Frost. Robert 124
Fullerton, Mark A 177
Furness, John 343
Furth. Jacob 568
Garretson, Hiram F 168
Gibbs, Sal. in A 284
Gilchrist, Charles 121
Gilday, Roberl 43°
Giles. Thei ><1' ire 395
Gillespie, fames R 4'3
Gillette, Theodore W 281
Gilstrap, William H 272
Gingrich, Christian 0 194
Glasgow, Joseph M 394
Hadley, Hiram E 555
Hadley. Lindlcy H 54 1
Hague, Isaac N 2°3
Hamilton, Edward S 248
Handsaker, Lester S 351
Harm, Frank D 533
Harmon, Ulysses E n7
Harrington, Frederick W 35°
Harris, James McE 126
Harris, Mitchell S63
Harstad, Bjug 38
Hartman, Washington 554
Harvey, Walter M i°3
Haskell, Forbes P., Jr °9
Haskill, Edwin N 33°
Hastie, Thomas P 448
Hatch, George C 311
Hawkins, Harry A 371
Hawks, Archie McL 477
Heberden. William H 477
Hegg, Fred A 137
Henry, Thomas N 69
Hensler, Gus 490
Hill, Bradford L 41
Hill, Frank D 5"
Hinckley, Timothy D 389
Hofercamp. Herman IQ6
Hogan. Frank V 5°6
Hohl, George J MO
Holes, Lucius T 425
Holt, Charles L 239
Hood, Charles 388
Hopkins, James F 464
Horton, Dexter 564
Hoss, Theodore 244
Hovey, John P 543
Howe, Alvah B 214
Hudson, Robert G 215
Huftv, Baldwin 498
Hunter. J. W 391
Huston. Thad 158
Uuth, Anton 218
Hvlak. Anton, Sr. and Jr 537
llvner, Matthew E 146
Idc, Clarence W 489
Irving, Peter 167
Israel. George C 144
INDEX.
J.
Jacobs, Orange 570
Johns, Bennett W 128
Johnson, Harvey L 414
Johnson, James L 548
Jones, Sherman L 558
K.
Kale, C. S 175
Kan die, George B 224
Kearney, Joseph F 82
Kempster, Arthur L 388
Kildall, Simon F 4icS
Kincaid, Robert 138
Kingsbury, Edward P 69
Kirkpatrick, Minor P 344
Kirkpatrick, William D 311
Kline, Robert L 514
Kneeland, Ammi H 556
Knight. Mrs. Mary M 35
Knox, James 51
Kuhn, Albert H 55
Kyle, George A 447
L.
Laffoon, Reuben F 23
Lambert, Ross S 182
Langhorne, William W 531
Larson, John J 107
LaSallc, William no
Latta, Marion C 264
Lawler, George 552
Lewis County Advocate 291
Linck, John W 236
Linn, Oliver V 124
Lister, Alfred 285
Lister, Ernest 79
Lloyd. J. P. D 13
Locke, Phil S 387
London & San Francisco Bank, Limited.. 95
Longden, George R 557
Loose, Ursinus K 432
Lutz, Harry E 518
M.
Mallory, Henry 364
Malloy, William J 323
Manning, Lucius R 94
Marsh, Calvin L 243
Martin, H. H., Lumber Company ^,27
Mason Countv Journal 262
Mathes, Edward T 515
Matthew. Otto L 378
Matthews. Alexander G 446
Mayhew, Lewis 324
Maynard, Charles W 567
McBride, Henry 87
McCarver, Morton M 470
McConnaughey, John W 467
McCoy. George 517
McCready, Norman S 240
McCully, Frank M .538
McDonald, Thomas W 231
McGregor, Daniel 165
McGregor, Henry J 422
McKay, George L 415
McManus, John E 376
McMurray, John L 24
McNeelev, Edwin J 205
McNitt, Frank T 77
Mead, Albert E 333
Meade, William J 185
Meath, Edward 104
Metcalf. Ralph 26
Meyer, Frederick 529
Milhollin. James H 148
Milhollin. John H 14S
Miller. George H 326
Milroy, Robert H 74
Milroy, Valerius A 76
Mitchell, Frank W 300
Mitchell, S. Z 332
Mock, William H 71
Mohn, Jacob E 271
Moon, Harley D 317
Moran Thomas 339
Morgan, Hiram D 402
Morning Olympian, The 462
Morse, Davis W 487
Morse, Frank C 28
Morse. Robert 1 293
Moultray, William R 247
Mount, Wallace 178
Mowed, John W 39
Miinn, Clarence E 331
Munro, Henry L 34"
Munro. William J 246
Munson, Albert J 233
N.
Needham, Arthur 62
Neher, John A 3.tf
Neterer, Jeremiah 289
Newkirk, Israel A 255
Newland. John T 37 '
Nichols, Samuel H 112
Nicholson, Lawson A 18
o.
Olson, Charles A 418
Olympia Daily Recorder 227
Olvmpia National Bank 292
O'Neill, Thomas 573
Opsvig, Peter L 3'
Ormsby, Norris '39
Osborn, George W 33
Owen, Hezekiah S 203
Parks, William 522
Peterson, John H 259
Phillips, S. A 37
Pidduck, George A 34&
Pidduck. Thomas H 34'
Pinckney, William H 142
INDEX.
Pitcher, Hamilton 213
Post, John 431
Powell, William 504
Prefontaine, Francis X 475
Prichard, Arthur G 505
Pritchard, Charles 1 578
Primer, George D. C 186
R.
Ratcliffe, Edward M 459
Rathbun, John C 104
Rea, Oscar E 443
Reavis, James B 73
Redman, lolm T 527
Reeves, Elza A 4°7
Reid, Robert A 406
Reinhart, Caleb S 14
Remsberg, Charles E 4°9
Rhodes, B. H 116
Rice, Alonzo E 115
Richardson, H. G 80
Ricksecker, Eugene 4'7
Riddell, Crockett M 258
Riley, Jean F 67
Kiplinger, John 3°°
Robbins Brothers 540
Robbins, Herbert E 540
Robbins, William L 540
Robinson, J. W 146
Robinson, Martin 222
Robinson, Thomas 278
Robinson, William F 288
Roeder, Otto B '. 368
Roice, Edward A 419
Ronev, Thomas 434
Rosling, Eric E 161
Ross, Frank C 150
Rowe, Lewis S 544
Rowland, Harry G 46
Rucker, Mrs. J. M 184
Russell. Ambrose J 217
S.
Sampson, Lammon E 208
Sargent, John H 250
Saunders. Steve 488
Schmidt, Leopold F 335
Schricker, W. E 420
Scobcy, J. O'B 156
Scott, Alvin B 17
Scott, James B 523
Seaborg, Ernest A 486
Semple, Eugene 534
Shelton Weekly Tribune 287
Shenkenberg, Theodore 29
Shrewsbury, Homer H 386
Simpson, John 85
Slaughter, Samuel C 53
Small, Mrs. R. A 154
Smith. Norman R 265
Smith, Silas T 501
Snell. Marshall K 100
Snyder, Wilson Mel 452
Speirs, George 127
Spencer, George A 549
Spithill, Alexander 410
Sprague, Frank S 92
Springer, C. H 120
Squire, Watson C 479
Stadelman, Charles H 320
Stallcup, John C 27
Stampllir, Jacob 562
Stanbra, Charles 500
Startup, Jeremiah G 174
State Bank 120
Stauffer, Joseph E 424
Steele, Edward 179
Stewart, Carey L 444
Stewart. David 114
St. John. Arthur C Ill
Street, Samuel F 295
Strout, Edwin A 229
Sullivan, John 132
Sumner, Thomas B 428
Swalwell, William G 502
T.
Taylor, Alonzo S 520
Terry, Frank 441
Thayer, Elroy M 316
Thmnas, Robert P 298
Thompson, Charles W 280
Thompson, Edgar 1 209
Tin nne, Chester 197
Titlow, Aaron R 22
Tyler, Thomas 317
U.
Udness, Olaf 260
V.
Vance. Thomas M 499
Van Holderbeke, August 189
Van Valey, Albert L 32
Vernon, James M 304
Vogtliu, George H 256
W.
Wadhams, Arthur E 303
Walker, Richard E 182
Wallace, Thomas B 507
Walters, Abraham L 10S
Walton, Hiram F 440
Waples, William H 105
Warburton, Stanton 16
Warner, Henry H 321
Warren, Albert 383
Warren, Seth 434
Washington, George 325
Washington Standard 227
Watson, Alexander R 190
Watson, J. Howard 546
Weekly Capital 476
Weir, Allen 579
Weisbach, Arthur J 52
W.lls, Charles H 68
INDEX.
Wells, William V 257
West, Harry 572
West, John 109
Wharton. William S 310
White, Chester F 279
White, Francis A 524
White, Harry 456
White, Henry A 516
White, Louis P 338
Whitworth, Frederick H 84
Whitworth, George F 574
Wiestling, Joshua M 225
Wilkins,' Thomas H 198
Willey, Frank C 559
Willey, Lafavette 90
Willis, J. E 118
Wilson. William M 385
Wilson, Zachary T 57
Winchester, Harry 423
Winne, Douglas T 43
Wolten. William M 408
Wood, Frederick J 352
U ■ 11 . Is, William 492
Woodworth, Charles 238
Woolard, Alfred E 436
Woolley, Philip A 466
Worden, Warren A 40
Wright. Albert H 508
Wright, Charles 179
Wynkoop, Urban G 160
Young, Abraham C 207
Young, Robert 512
Zimmerman, Peter 337
HISTORY
OF THE
PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
HON. ARTHUR A. DENXY.
In all ages, the pioneers of the world have occupied a prominent place
in its history. They were usually men of action more than of words, yet many
of them have left a deep and lasting impression, not only upon their own day
and generation, but upon succeeding ages. Abraham was not the first man
to " go west " and become the father and founder of a great nation. When
the people of our own country were looking for a leader, at a great crisis in
their history, they did not go to the cultivated population of its eastern states
and cities, but they went west and took Abraham Lincoln, a pioneer of the
state of Illinois, who led them triumphantly through the most critical period
of their existence, notwithstanding the manifold and extraordinary difficulties
by which he was surrounded. In our own state, the name of Arthur A.
Denny is everywhere recognized as that of a man who has borne a conspic-
uous and an honorable part in its early settlement and in the work of laying
the foundations of a great and prosperous commonwealth. For more than
forty-seven years he faithfully discharged, without fear and without reproach,
every duty devolving upon him, whether personal and domestic or public and
official in its character. From the time of his arrival at Alki Point, on the
13th day of November, 185 1, to the day of his death in Seattle, on the 9th
of January, 189Q, he was never known to falter in the performance of any
trust or obligation he may have assumed, but during all of that time he was
known as an upright, sincere and earnest, God-fearing man, whose highest
ambition it was to serve his country and his fellowmen to the best of his
ability as a useful, progressive, patriotic and law-abiding citizen.
At his death it was realized that " a great man had fallen in Israel."
Yet he came to his grave in a full age, " like as a shock of corn cometh in his
season/' And his loss was deplored by thousands of people who were never-
theless proud of the fact that such a man had lived and died amongst them.
His memory is a priceless legacy, not only to his descendants, but to the en-
tire community in which he dwelt, and to the territory and state of which
1*
2 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
he was so long an honored citizen. It lias been said that " the best com-
mentary upon any work of literature is a faithful life of the author." If this
be true, it is also true that the best memorial which can be framed of such
a man as Mr. Denny is the publication of a plain and straightforward history
of his personal life and character. Fortunately he has left us an autobiog-
raphy which will, beyond question, be more interesting to our readers than
anything which could lie written, no matter how impartial it might lie, by a
surviving friend or acquaintance.
This sketch of his life is written in that direct and unassuming manner
which characterized Mr. Denny, -and, like the " Personal Memoirs of Gen-
eral Grant." it carries with it the conviction that it was written by a man of
strict and sturdy integrity. This autobiography is as follows:
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ARTHUR ARMSTRONG DENNY.
I have been of late so frequently solicited for a sketch of my life that it
has become a source of annoyance, more especially as it has never occurred
to me, and does not now. that my life's history is of any importance or calcu-
lated to be of any special interest to the public at large.
In my life work I have simply endeavored to meet the obligations to
my family and discharge my duty as a citizen to my country and the commun-
ity in which I have lived. It has not occurred to me that I have accomplished
anything above the ordinary, and, if so, I should feel humiliated to claim it
for myself.
My life has been a busy one, and I have not taken time to think of the
estimate which those who are to come after me may put upon what I have
done, or whether they will consider it at all. Having reached a time when
what I can do, or what I may think or say is of but little moment to the active
world, the hard and annoying thing to me is the seeming disposition to dissect
the subject before death. It is not, therefore, for self-exaltation that I have
undertaken to make as brief a sketch as possible, but to relieve myself of the
annoyance referred to, and for the satisfaction of my family.
Arthur Armstrong Denny.
Seattle, November 25th, 1890.
The Dennys are a very ancient family of England, Ireland and Scotland.
I trace my branch from Ireland to America in my great-grandparents, David
and Margaret Denny, who came to America before the Revolution, and
settled in Berks county, Pennsylvania, where my grandfather, Robert Denny,
was born in the year 1753. In early life he removed to Frederick county, Vir-
ginia, where he, in the year 1778, married Rachel Thomas, and in about 1790
removed to and settled in Mercer county, Kentucky, where my father, John
Denny, was born May 4, [793. On August 25, 1814, he was married to
Sarah Wilson, my mother, the daughter of Bassel and Ann Wilson. My
mother was born in the old town of Bladensburg, near Washington city. Feb-
ruary 3, i7<)7- Her mother's name was Scott, but I cannot trace the families
of my maternal grandparents beyond America, hut they, doubtless, came to
America in very early times.
Both of my grandparents rendered service in the Revolutionary war, and
my grandfather Wilson belonged to Washington's command at Braddock's
defeat.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 3
My father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and belonged to Colonel
Richard M. Johnson's regiment of Kentucky volunteers. He was also an
ensign in Captain McAfee's company. He was with Harrison at the battle
of the Thames, when Proctor was defeated and the noted Tecumseh was killed.
He was a member of the Illinois legislature in 1840-41, with Lincoln, Yates,
Baker and others who afterwards became noted in national affairs. He was
a Whig in politics, and a Republican after the formation of that party. For
many years he was a justice of the peace, and it was his custom to induce
litigants, if possible, to settle without a resort to law : I do not think he was
ever himself a party in an action at law. He died July 28, 1875, in his eighty-
third year. My mother died on March 25, 1841, in her forty-fifth year. For
her I had the greatest reverence, and as I now look back and contemplate
her character, it seems to me that she was as nearly perfect as it is possible to
find any one in this world.
About the year 18 16 my parents removed from Kentucky to Washington
county, Indiana, and settled near Salem, where I was born, June 20, 1822.
When I was about one year old they removed to Putnam county, six miles
east of Greencastle, where they remained until I was in my thirteenth year,
when they removed to Knox county, Illinois. The first land entered in
Putnam county by my father was March 12. 1823. My impression is that
he went there and made the selection at that time and moved the family some
time in the summer or fall of the same year.
My education began in the log schooihouse so familiar to the early settler
in the old west. The teachers were paid by subscription, so much per pupil,
and the schools rarely lasted more than half the year, and often but three
months. Among the earliest of my recollections is one of my father hew-
ing out a farm in the beech woods of Indiana ; and I well remember that the
first school I attended was two and a half miles distant from my home. When
I became older it was often necessary for me to attend the home duties one-
half of the day and then go to school, a mile distant ; but by close applica-
tion I was able to keep up with my class. My opportunities, to some extent,
improved as time advanced, but I never got beyond the boarding school
and seminary. I spent my vacation with older brothers at carpenter and
joiner work, to obtain the means to pay my expenses during term time.
On November 23, 1843, I was married to Mary Ann Boren, to whom I
am very largely indebted for any success which I may have achieved in life.
She has been kind and indulgent to all my faults, and in cases of doubt and
difficulty in the long voyage we have made together she has always been,
without the least disposition to dictate, a safe and prudent adviser.
I was eight years county surveyor of Knox county. Illinois, and resigned
that position to 'come to the Pacific coast. On April 10, 185 1, 1 started
with my family across the plains, and reached The Dalles. August II, and
arrived in Portland, August 23. On the 5th of November we sailed for
Puget Sound on the schooner Exact, and arrived at our destination on
Elliott's Bav, November 13, 1851.
The place where we landed we called Alki Point, at that time as wild a
spot as any on earth. We were landed in the ship's boat when the tide was
4 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
well out ; and while the men of the party were all actively engaged in re-
moving our goods to a point above high tide, the women and children had
crawled into the brush, made a fire, and spread a cloth to shelter them from
the rain. When the goods were secured I went to look after the women,
and found on my approach that their faces were concealed. On a closer
inspection I discovered that they were in tears, having already discovered
the gravity of the situation; but I did not for some time discover that I had
gone a step too far. In fact, it was not until I became aware that my wife
and helpless children were exposed to the murderous attacks of hostile savages
that it dawned upon me that I had made a desperate venture. My motto in
life was to never go backward, and in fact if I bad wished to retrace my
steps it was about as nearly impossible to do so as if I bad taken the bridge
up behind me. I had brought my family from a good home surrounded by
comforts and luxuries, and landed them in a wilderness, and I do not now
think that it was at all strange that a woman who had, without complaint,
endured all the dangers and hardships of a trip across the great plains should
be found shedding tears when contemplating the hard prospect then so plainly
in view. Now, in looking back to the experiences of those times, it seems to
me that it is not boasting to say that it required quite an amount of energy
and some little courage to contend with and overcome the difficulties and
dangers we had to meet. For myself, I was for the first several weeks after
our landing, so thoroughly occupied in building a cabin to shelter my family
for the winter that I had not much time to think of the future. About the
time we got our houses completed our little settlement was fortunately visited
by Captain Daniel S. Howard, of the brig Leoness, seeking a cargo of piles
which we contracted to furnish. This gave us profitable employment, and,
although the labor was severe, as we did it mostly without a team, we were
cheered on witli the thought that we were providing food for our families.
A circumstance occurred just at the close of our labor which for a few hours
caused us the greatest anxiety and even consternation, but resulted in con-
siderable amusement afterwards. We finished the cargo late in the after-
noon, and it was agreed between us and the captain that he would settle with
us the next day. The vessel was anchored near the Point, and that night
there was a stiff gale from the south, which caused the anchor to drag, and
carried the brig before it until the anchor caught in the mud at Smith's
Cove. The Indians soon discovered it, and came and reported that the ship
had "clatiwad" (left), which caused in our little settlement great astonish-
ment and concern. We were forced to the conclusion that the captain bad
absconded to avoid paying us for our hard work, and the time we had put in
on the cargo was not counted by eight-hour days, but from daylight until
darkness. The ship's unexpected departure added a sleepless night to our
arduous toil. In the morning, when it grew light enough to see. to our great
joy, we discovered the brig getting under way and she soon returned. The
captain came on shore and gave a most satisfactory explanation, and he was
ever afterwards, to the day of his death, the especial favorite of every one of
our little community.
In February, 1852, in company with William N. Bell and C. D. Boren,
I made soundings of Elliott's Bay along the eastern shore and towards the
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 5
foot of the tide flats to determine the character of the harbor, using for that
purpose a clothes line and a bunch of horse shoes. After the survey of the
harbor we next examined the land and timber around the bay, and after three
clays' careful investigation we located claims with a view of lumbering, and.
ultimately, of laying off a town.
I came to the coast impressed with the belief that a railroad would be
built across the continent to some point on the northern coast within the next
fifteen or twenty years, and located on the Sound with that expectation. I
imagined that Oregon would receive large annual accessions to its popula-
tion, but in this I was mistaken, mainly by the opening of Kansas and Ne-
braska to settlement. The bitter contest which arose there over the slavery
question had the effect to attract and absorb the moving population to such
an extent that very few, for several years, found their way through those
territories ; and a large proportion of those who did pass through were gold-
seekers bound for California.
Then came our Indian war, which well nigh depopulated Washington
territory. This was followed by the great rebellion, all of which retarded" the
growth of the territory, and for a long time prevented the construction of the
railroad upon which I had based large hopes. In the spring of 1852, when we
were ready to move upon our claims, we had the experience of the fall be-
fore over again in building our cabins to live in. After the houses were built
we commenced getting our piles and hewn timber mostly for the San Francisco
market ; but occasionally a cargo for the Sandwich Islands. Vessels in the
lumber trade all carried a stock of general merchandise, and from them we
obtained our supplies.
The captain sold from the vessel while taking in cargo, and on leaving
turned over the remainder to me to sell on commission. On one occasion my
commission business involved me in serious difficulty. The captain of one
of the vessels with whom I usually dealt, carried a stock of liquors, but he
knew that I did not deal in spirits, and disposed of that part of the cargo him-
self, or kept it on board. One one occasion, as he was ready for the voyage
from San Francisco with his usual stuck, something prevented his making
the voyage himself ; he put a young friend of his just out from Maine in
command and gave him general directions, but when they came to the whisky,
the young captain said, "What am I to do with that? I will not sell it."
"Well," he replied, "take it up to my agent, Mr. Denny, and if he will not
dispose of it, turn it over to a friend of mine at Alki Point, who is in the
trade." The vessel arrived and the new captain came on shore with a letter
explaining the situation. I told him, "All right. Captain, take it to Alki ;
I have no use for it." In due time the cargo was completed and the captain
came on shore and informed me that the man at Alki had on hand a full
stock of his own and would not take the stuff: and he would throw it over-
board if I did not take it out of his way. My obligation to the owner would
in no way justify me in permitting so rash an act, and I told the captain to
send it on shore with the goods he was to leave, and have his men roll
it up to the house, and I would take care of it until the owner came. I was
cramped for room, but I found places to store it under beds and in safe
corners about my cabin. It was a hard kind of goods to hold onto in those
6 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
days, but there was never a drop cf it escaped until the owner came and re-
moved it to Steilacoom.
I continued in the commission business until the fall of 1854, when I
entered in copartnership with Dexter Horton and David Phillips, in a general
merchandise business, under the firm name of A. A. Denny & Company. Our
capital was very limited; it would hardly purchase a truck load of goods
now, but we did for a time, in a small, one-story, frame building on the
corner of Commercial and Washington streets, afterward occupied by the
bank of Dexter Horton & Company, the leading business of the town.
When the Indian war came on in 1855, the firm dissolved and I went
into the volunteer service for six months.
I served as county commissioner of Thurston county, Oregon, when that
county covered all of the territory north of Lewis county, and when Pierce,
King, Island and Jefferson counties were formed by the Oregon legislature
I was appointed a commissioner of King county. In 1853 I was appointed
postmaster and received the first United States mail in Seattle, August 27,
1853. On the organization of Washington territory I was elected to the
house, and continued a member of either house of representatives or of the
council for nine consecutive sessions, and was speaker of the house the third
session. I was register of the United States land office at Olympia from
1861 to HS65, when I was elected territorial delegate of the thirty-ninth
Congress.
On the 16th of June, 1870, my old friends and business partners, David
Phillips and Dexter Horton, founded the bank of Phillips, Horton & Com-
pany, and at the death of Mr. Phillips, which occurred on March 6, 1872,
Mr. Horton, although alone in business, adopted the firm name of Dexter
Horton & Company. I entered the bank at this time as executor of the
Phillips estate, and, after closing the affairs of the estate, I took a half interest
in the bank under the existing firm name, which Mr. Horton offered to change
at the time, but, being fully satisfied with the name, I declined to allow the
change.
I have been identified with the fortunes and interests of Seattle from
the day of its founding, and during the active period of my life it has been
my earnest endeavor to promote and protect those interests to the best of
my ability.
My work is practically over. If it has been done in a way to entitle me
to any credit. I do not feel that it becomes me to claim it. Should the reverse
be true, then I trust that the mantle of charity may protect me from the too
harsh judgment and criticism of those now on the active list; and that I may
he permitted to pass into a peaceful obscurity, with the hopes that their ef-
forts may lie more successful than mine.
This memoir was written in 1890. Mr. Denny lived more than eight
years afterwards and during much of that time he took an active interest,
not only in his own large business enterprises, but in all matters pertaining
to the public welfare. For (he last three years of his life, however, his fail-
ing health admonished him that his business affairs should be left to bis sons,
who gradually assumed their direction and control.
Personally, Mr. Denny was six feet in height, weighed .about one bun-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 7
dred and seventy pounds, with no superfluous flesh, and was a typical specimen
of the sturdy and stalwart sons of the west, who were prepared physically
and intellectually to grapple successfully with any and all obstacles that might
be encountered. Large in mind and body, with a moral character equally
strong and well developed, he continued to grow in the esteem and regard of
his fellow citizens of Washington from the time when he was elected a mem-
ber of the Oregon legislature in 1852 — Washington being then a part 'of
Oregon — until in 1S97, when he was unanimously supported by the Repub-
lican members of the Washington legislature for a seat in the United States
senate. He did not take his seat, however, or serve in the Oregon legislature
because the time required to obtain the returns from the large extent of ter-
ritory he was elected to represent was so great that the term of the legislature
expired before he could be notified and thereafter reach the seat of govern-
ment. In 1897 his party was in the minority in the legislature, but these and
many other incidents might be mentioned which illustrate the high esteem
in which he was held by the people of Washington. In many respects Mr.
Denny resembled Abraham Lincoln, not only in his personal appearance, but
in his strong mental and moral characteristics, and in his keen perceptions
of right and wrong, with the strength of will which enabled him to choose
and follow the right, regardless of consequences.
Whilst in politics he was an earnest and consistent Republican, from
the organization of that party until his death, he yet enjoyed in an eminent
degree the implicit confidence of all who knew him, without distinction of
party, and his name was a synonym for honorable and upright dealing in
public affairs as well as in private life. Identified from the beginning witli
the history of Seattle, his business enterprise and his high standing for com-
mercial integrity did much to give to this city the favorable place which it
occupies to-day in the financial centers of the world. For what he has done
the citizens of the state owe him a debt of gratitude, and that debt could be
discharged in no more satisfactory way than by studying his character, cher-
ishing his memory and following his example. His acts of charity were
numerous, but without ostentation, and one of his greatest pleasures was to
afford relief to the needy, the helpless and the destitute.
In his domestic relations lie was particularly fortunate. His life-long
companion who became his wife nearly fifty-six years ago, and who was
throughout that long period, his constant and trusted companion, adviser
and a helpmeet indeed, still survives him. From the time they began their
long, toilsome and dangerous journey across the plains in 185 1, until, after
many years of hardship and privation on Puget Sound, they again enjoyed
the blessings of civilization, she endured with bravery and patience all the
trials of frontier life incident to her situation, and thus proved herself worthy
of a high place amongst the noble women of our country, who have ren-
dered so much assistance in the work of laving the foundation of American
commonwealths.
Two daughters and four sons survive the happy union, all residing in
Seattle. The daughters are: Mrs. George F. Frye and Miss Lenora Denny.
The sons are: Robin II. Denny, Orrin O. Denny, Arthur W. Denny and
Charles L. Denny, all prominent and highly respected business men of Seattle.
8 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Mr. Denny also left one sister. Miss S. L. Denny, residing in Seattle, and
two brothers, David T. Denny, of Seattle, and A. W. Denny, of Salem, Oregon.
Mr. Denny left a large estate, chiefly in the city of Seattle, of which he
was the principal founder, but his most valuable legacy was an unspotted
character for loyalty and integrity and a long record of priceless and dis-
tinguished services rendered to the people of the state of Washington.
When he took his final departure he left behind him a noble example of
"the high stern-featured beauty
Of plain devotedness to duty.
Steadfast and still, nor paid with mortal praise,
But finding amplest recompense,
For Life's ungarlanded expense,
In work done squarely and unwasted days."
William F. Prosser.
The following extracts from the
"tribute of the chamber of commerce,"
of Seattle, to the memory of Mr. Denny furnish a brief expression of the
sentiment of the entire community on the subject:
Seattle, January n, 1899.
At the usual hour, 3 ^o p. m., the members being assembled, the meet-
ing was opened by the president, Mr. E. O. Graves, who said :
"Gentlemen : — This is the regular weekly meeting of the Chamber
of Commerce, but by common consent it has been agreed that, instead of
addressing ourselves to our usual duties, we shall devote this session to the
memory of Arthur A. Denny, whose life, since our last meeting, has gently
ebbed away. While Mr. Denny was not a member of this chamber, he had
been so potent a factor in the founding and upbuilding of this city, he was so
public-spirited as a citizen, and so universally respected as a man, that it is
eminently fit that this body, representing the commercial interests of the city
which he founded, should pause for an hour to pay a tribute to his memory.
There are others here better qualified than I, by long acquaintance and asso-
ciation with Mr. Denny, to speak of his public spirit, his generous heart,
his sweet and gentle nature, but there is one phase of his character with
which I have been deeply impressed, ever since I became a resident of Seattle,
and which I believe to have been a powerful influence in shaping the char-
acter of the new community which he founded. I refer to his spotless in-
tegrity, his perfect uprightness. No man ever even charged Arthur Denny
with the slightest deviation from the highest standard of truth and honor.
No suspicion of over-reaching or sharp practice ever attached to him. His
word, once given, was sacred. No formal bond could add a jot to the solemn
obligation of his spoken word. No schemer could hope to induce him to
take pari in any unworthy project, or for a moment to countenance any
scheme that savored of unfairness. The healthful influence upon a new and
unformed community of such a character, in its foremost man, cannot be over-
estimated. It left an indelible stamp on this community, and it was an in-
spiration ami example of every citizen of Seattle."
By Hon. Roger S. Greene:
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 9
"Mr. President and Gentlemen: Such a life as Mr. Denny's has special
significance for all who knew him. It is not simply worthy of notice, but
has urgent claims upon our attention and our speech.
"Nothing spoken of or written about among men is so worthy of tribute
from tongue or pen as the worthy man. To pay that tribute is a debt owed
to society by those who have the faculty. Words can be engaged in no nobler
or more faithful mission than to transmit, radiate and multiply, lofty and
inimitable virtues. Mr. Denny, for this city of Seattle, of which he par-
ticipated in the founding and of which, because of his prominent part in its
beginning and growth, he has been deservedly called 'Father,' is the exponent
of every civic virtue. Courage, modesty, resolution, fairness, steadfastness,
industry, business capacity, thrift, public spirit, wisdom, manliness, have been
uniformly his distinguishing characterstics. All varieties of life and work,
from his home here as a center, have felt his positive impress. Although
singularly unobtrusive and retiring, his activity has been largely public, or
of public import and effect. He has many times and most satisfactorily
served the people in stations of highest political trust, and at all times, and
yet more efficiently, as a simple citizen, in less conspicuous ways. His fame
extends justly throughout the state, and is to no inconsiderable degree national.
From his first appearance on Elliott's Bay, his character, more than that of
any other man, has been, and now is the nucleus around which Seattle, as she
has been, as she is, and as she is to be, has been crystalizing, and will con-
tinue to increase, take on form, and develop, along the lines of her perma-
nent features and power.
"When this city or chamber shall in the future see fit, by statue or
memorial shaft, to honor any of her illustrious dead, she can find no more
fitting personage with whom she could begin than Arthur Armstrong Denny.
"Yet nothing of lifeless brass or inert stone that ever his fellow mortals
can rear will equal in appropriateness or glory that which is already his.
Seattle, the living city, is his own, his best, his most enduring monument.
"A very lovable man was Dr. Denny. For true friendship, undemon-
strative, affable, going out to high and low alike, plain-speaking, faithful,
constant, considerate, wise, self-sacrificing, ever ready to grant, but shy to
seek a favor, we will have to travel far and wide to find another such. And
it is here only that we come to touch the full measure of the loss of this
community. He was everybody's friend. All are mourners now. To-morrow
we shall see some imperfect evidence of the estimate in which, he held others
by their expression of their estimate of him. This chamber knows him as a
business man, a representative of business interests, whether in the narrower
field of private enterprise, or the broader one of political concern. But it has
to look outward to realize just what has happened, and it beholds the whole
landscape draped, and the scene filled with the multitude of the bereaved,
many conscious mourners, but, as is always the case, many, very many, even
now unconscious of the fact of their bereavement."
By Mr. S. L. Crawford:
"Mr. Arthur Denny was an all-round, well balanced man, and if I were
to select any particular trait of his character as being most conspicuous, it
would be that of his rugged disposition toward justice, and fair dealing be-
10 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
tween man and man. This element in his character was early recognized
by the Indians, and I am satisfied that it was largely the carrying out of this
principle in his daily walk and conversation that enabled the little handful
of whites, who first settled on Elliott's Bay, to live peacefully with the vast
number of Indians who at that time inhabited this region. Very soon after
Mr. Denny's arrival here he became acquainted with Pat Kanim, the power-
ful chief of the Snoqualmies. This acquaintance grew into a strong friend-
ship. As early as the fall of 1854 Pat Kanim gave Mr. Denny information
of the growing dissatisfaction among the Indians east of the mountains toward
the whiles, and he it was who in the spring of 1855 came to Mr. Denny,
privately in the night, to warn him of the approaching danger. Shortly
after this friendly act, and just before the Indian outbreak, the old chief
stated to Mr. Denny that he was going up the Steilaguamish to hunt moun-
tain sheep. How this friendship afterwards stood the Indian in good stead,
I will relate in Mr. Denny's own language:
' 'Immediately after the White River massacre, Lieutenant Slaughter
was ordered up the old military road to the Naches Pass, and after reaching
Porter's Prairie he sent down an express to Governor Mason, stating that
Pat Kanim was dogging him at every step, and around bis camp every night.
On receipt of this dispatch Mason sent a dispatch to Captain Sterrett, at
Seattle, instructing him to immediately arrest two of Pat Kanim's brothers,
with all members of the tribe, then camping in Seattle, and put them in irons.
Having previously stated to Captain Sterrett that I bad received information
from I 'at Kanim that convinced me of his friendship, and that of his tribe,
the captain did not feel willing to take so important a step without con-
sulting with me, and sent for me to come aboard the Decatur, when he stated
what he was directed to do, and that he must make the arrest at once, for
the Snoqualmies would certainly leave during the night. This was startling
news to me, and I most earnestly protested, telling him that I knew Lieutenant
Slaughter was mistaken, and that we had enemies enough to look after with-
out attacking our friends: but he was so much disposed to act on Governor
Mason's orders that I finally proposed if he would not disturb the Snoqualmies
1 would be responsible for their good conduct, and would prove to him that
Slaughter was wrong, by going to Pat Kanim's camp and bringing him in.
He positively refused to allow me to leave town, but consented that I might
send an express for Pat Kanim, and stand responsible for them until their
return at a given time.
' 'Very fortunately for me, and probably for Pat Kanim, too, be was on
hand within the time agreed upon. He had his women and children with
him, and also brought a cargo of mountain sheep, venison, horns and hides,
specimens of which be took on board the Decatur, and presented to the
captain, who expressed the greatest surprise, and satisfaction with the con-
clusive proof which I had thus furnished of the good faith and friendship
of the Snoqualmies, and 1 'at Kanim was soon after employed by the governor,
with a number of his tribe, as scouts, and they did good service during the
continuance of the war.'
"Chief Seattle always considered Mr. Denny his friend and adviser, and,
after the death of the old chief, Mr. Denny and two or three other pioneers,
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 11
erected a handsome monument over his grave, at the Old Man House reserva-
tion, near Port Madison; and when the old chiefs daughter, Angeline, lie-
came too feehle, on account of age, to earn her livelihood, Mr. Denny had a
house erected for her on some of his vacant property, near the water front,
where she spent her declining years in peace and comfort.
"As with the Indians, so with the whites. They all respected his spirit
of fairness, and placed great store by his judgment, and it was the custom
in this community, before the days of courts and lawyers, to lay all disputes
between parties before Mr. Denny, and from his judgment an appeal never
was taken so far as I have been able to learn.
"In the death of Mr. Denny, Seattle has lost one of her best and noblest —
Peace to his ashes."
By John Leary — a letter:
"I regret that I am unavoidably prevented from being present at the
meeting this afternoon at the Chamber of Commerce to be held in honor of
Mr. Arthur A. Denny.
"Mr. Denny was one of the first men I became acquainted with when
I came to the territory of Washington, something more than thirty years ago.
"A few years after I came here, Seattle became engaged in its first
great fight, against the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, for existence.
In that contest the leadership of Seattle people naturally fell to Mr. Denny.
Under his direction, as president of the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad
Company, it was my fortune, then one-seventh owner in the company, to
take an active part in building the old Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad,
which became Seattle's first bulwark of defense in the long and bitter fight
with the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. In this contest for Seattle,
Mr. Denny took an active and leading part. His cool judgment and sound
common sense were invaluable to the little town of Seattle of that day. From
that time on, during my entire acquaintance with him, Mr. Denny could
always be relied upon to bear his full share of the burdens in every move-
ment and every contest for strengthening and building up the interests of
Seattle. His views, however, went beyond the place of his home, and took
in the entire territory of Washington, as it then was. He was always read)
to aid and encourage every movement calculated to promote the interests of
the territory at large.
"In business Mr. Denny's judgment was always excellent. He was
cautious and conservative — qualities more valuable in a niivf community,
which is apt, unless restrained by wise and conservative counsel, to rush to
extremes.
"Mr. Denny endeared himself to all classes of people, both old settlers
and new. by his kindness and uniform consideration."
By Hon. C. H. Hanford, United States District Judge— a letter :
"f regret being at this time so engaged that I cannot attend the memorial
exercises in honor of the first citizen of Seattle, Hon. A. A. Denny.
"We know that his life-work was done, and well done. Having lived
beyond the period allotted to the lifetime of a man, his friends could not
wish to detain him longer from the reward earned by a well spent life; still
all must feel keenly the pain of parting.
12 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
"For nearly half a century Mr. Denny has lived in Seattle, and during
all of that time he has been a kind and considerate neighbor and a patriotic
citizen. For the generosity and gentleness of his nature and the purity of
his life, as well as for his courageous bearing and invaluable services as a
leader in the pioneer period, every citizen must feel a desire to do him honor."
By Mr. Thomas W. Prosch — Memorial.
ARTHUR ARMSTRONG DENNY.
"Seattle has lost one of its founders., its most revered citizen, and its
whole people mourn in consequence. From its inception, now forty-seven
years, this place has known and this people have loved Arthur A. Denny.
When he crossed the continent, in 185 1, it was a trip requiring five months'
time; involving constant peril from beginning to end; the placing of thou-
sands of miles of uninhabited country between the old and the new home;
the breaking up of family and business relations ; the expenditure of one's
whole fortune, and the risk not only of one's own future but those also of
wife and children. It meant more in money, in labor, in time, in deprivation,
in suffering, in danger, and in all that tries the souls of men than it ever
meant to cross the Atlantic two hundred or three hundred years ago, and
settle in Massachusetts, New York or Virginia. It took brave men, heroes,
to make the trip, and one of these was Mr. Denny.
"Seattle owes much to A. A. Denny. He was one of the men who located
the town, and one also of the men who gave it its name. He was one of its
first house-builders, first producers, first merchants, first mill men, first steam-
boat men, first railroad men, first bankers, and first citizens in all that consti-
tutes good citizenship. He was useful to all about him, was discerning,
generous, broad-minded, enterprising, public-spirited, reliable and true. At
home, in his business, in society, in the church, in politics, everywhere, he
was the same. The people about him soon knew him and trusted him. They
sent him to the legislature nine successive terms ; they used him in city and
county affairs ; he went to Congress for them ; they relied upon him in a
thousand emergencies, and he never failed them.
"When a representative citizen was wanted to present the people's cause;
when in time of war a leader was needed; when a university was to be in-
augurated ; when a railroad enterprise was to be started, Mr. Denny was at
once the thought of the people, and upon their call modestly took the place
by common consent assigned to him, and gave his time, his talents, his lands
and his money in aid of the popular cause.
"Mr. Denny's benevolent, kind, broad nature made him the friend, the
defender and the supporter of the Indian, the poor man, the child, the weak
and the helpless. His encouraging word was ever given to them, his strong
hand outstretched to them. What he did in these ways was done unostenta-
tiously, and never known except as told by others.
"The Seattle Chamber of Commerce joins in the common grief at the
loss the city has sustained. It rejoices, however, in the lives and the deeds
of good men, and it is pleased in this instance and in this manner to bear
testimony to one of them, the peer of any, the late Arthur A. Denny."
Upon motion of Major James R. Hayden, the memorial was adopted
as the sentiment of the chamber.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 13
Upon motion of Mr. Griffith Davies, the memorial was ordered placed
upon the record and a copy sent to the bereaved family.
THE REV. J. P. DERWENT LLOYD.
The Rev. John Plummer Derwent Lloyd, rector of St. Mark's church,
Seattle, was born in Manchester, England, on the /th of June, 1861, his
parents, the Rev. Thomas and Emma (Plummer) Lloyd, being descendants
of old Welsh and Yorkshire families of high standing. Part of the early
boyhood of their eldest son was spent with his grandparents upon the Der-
went estate in Derbyshire. At the age of ten he entered the Royal Lan-
casterian Grammar School of Manchester, one of the famous English pre-
paratory schools. For three years he enjoyed the advantage of instruction
in this school until, in 1874, the family removed to the Dominion of Canada.
There his father, the Rev. Dr. Lloyd, took up work as rector of St. James'
church, Gravenhurst, Ontario. After several years spent at Gravenhurst he
became incumbent of the parish of Huntsville, Ontario, where the remainder
of his life was passed. In 1890 Dr. Lloyd was appointed archdeacon of the
diocese of Algoma, which arduous office he held up to the time of his death,
July 25, 1903.
For the four years immediately following the removal of the family to
Canada, Mr. Lloyd's education was continued under the tutorship of the
Rev. Joseph S. Cole, B. A. This was succeeded by three years of teaching
in the schools of Ontario and nearly an equal period of mercantile life in
Toronto. The best traditions and culture of the old world were thus united
in his training with the vigor, activity and enterprise of the new.
In 18S3 Mr. Lloyd began definite preparation for the work of the min-
istry by entering the theological school of Montreal, pursuing the divinity
course there for one year. A second year of study and parochial work was
passed with the Rev. W. S. Rainsford, D. D., in St. George's parish,
New York.
In 1884 Mr. Lloyd was ordained to the deaconate and in 1885 to the
priesthood by the Rt. Rev. D. B. Knickerbocker, D. D., bishop of Indiana.
After two years' ministerial work in that state and in Wisconsin Mr. Lloyd
was called to the rectorship of St. Paul's church, Riverside, a suburb of
Chicago, where he remained for three years. The succeeding eight years
were spent in Omaha, Nebraska, as rector of the Church of the Good
Shepherd. From Omaha he came to Seattle in September, 1897.
Of Mr. Lloyd's work as rector of St. Mark's church, Seattle, it is dif-
ficult to speak with adequate appreciation. During his rectorate a marked
advance has been made along all lines of church activity. St. Mark's church
has been enlarged and beautified, a magnificent organ has been purchased,
additional land has been acquired, and a handsome and commodious rectory
has been built at a cost of six thousand two hundred dollars. The value of
the church property has thus increased in six years from fifteen thousand
dollars to sixty thousand dollars, the present valuation being a very con
servative estimate.
But it is upon the intellectual and spiritual sides of their rector's work
that his people love most to dwell. An ever-increasing ripeness and richness
of scholarship, a personality of great strength and attractiveness, a high
14 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
appreciation and love of the beautiful in nature and art, a rare power of in-
spiration toward that which is noble in life, and, as the groundwork of all,
a deep personal consecration to the work of his calling — all these combine
to render Mr. Lloyd's influence one of the broadest and most effective forces
in the higher life of Seattle.
The services of St. Mark's church are characterized by a simple im-
pressiveness and beauty of ritual as far removed from bareness on the one
hand as from unmeaning complexity of form on the other. The rector's
aim has been to make the services most fully express the thought of worship
and spiritual aspiration. The success of Mr. Lloyd's work is in a measure
attested by the growth in church membership during the past six years, the
communicant list having increased in that time from five hundred to one
thousand. St. Mark's thus becomes the leading Episcopal church on the
Pacific coast.
Not only is Mr. Lloyd a preacher of force and persuasiveness, but his
services as lecturer and speaker upon varied occasions are frequently sought.
Many of the beneficial public movements of Seattle feel the touch and in-
spiration of his personality. As a member of the board of trustees of the
Public Library and chairman of the building committee of the new library,
Mr. Lloyd has a guiding hand in the intellectual life of the city. He is a
director and has twice been elected president of the Charity Organization
Society. He is also interested in several fraternal orders, being a member of
the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order of United Workmen,
the Elks and the Odd Fellows.
On December 28, 1886, Mr. Lloyd was married to Miss Mary Emilie
Thomas, a native of Brantford, Ontario, and a daughter of William H. and
Adeline (Kissam) Thomas, representatives of old Knickerbocker families.
Their five children are Gwendolyn Derwent, Thomas Derwent, Adeline Der-
went, Charlewood Derwent and Margaret Derwent.
CAPTAIN CALEB S. REINHART.
Washington has been a state of the Union only thirteen years, and it
was only a short time ago that paths were made through its dense forests
and the country freed from the dangers of Indians and wild beasts, and
there are few men of middle age who have the honor to have been born in
this state. It is now our pleasure to speak of one of the prominent citizens
of Olympia, Washington, one who was born in Olympia on the 5th of April,
1856. The German ancestors of Mr. Reinhart settled in this country about
the year 1700. His father was Stephen D. Reinhart, and was born in Ken-
tucky and reared and educated in the state of Indiana. He learned the trade
of a millwright, and was married in Indiana to Miss Sarah Cock. In 1852,
with an ox-team, they started out across the plains toward Oregon. The
journey was long and arduous and they experienced many hardships and
dangers. The teams gave out on the road, and they were obliged to double
up with fellow-travelers. Later they had some more trouble, and finally
Mr. Reinhart cut his wagon in two parts, and, putting the tongue to the
hind wheels offered his partner his choice of the two conveyances. With
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 15
this kind of makeshift they finally reached The Dalles, where he built a
raft and loaded his teams and family thereon. They reached the Cascades
safely and then found themselves out of money and provisions. He there
secured employment in loading a small sloop, which he successfully accom-
plished, although he had had no previous experience in that kind of work.
On this vessel he proceeded down the river to Portland, and, continuing his
journey, reached Mound Prairie, Thurston county, Washington. This
country was then covered with dense forests, and very few white people were
living in the country, but many Indians. He started a little home and made
what improvements he could on his property, but was obliged to abandon it
at the Indian war of 1855-6. After the war he completed his home and
worked at the carpenter's trade in Olympia, also building mills and other
mechanical work and running a sawmill. In 1862, on account of the poor
health of his wife, he removed to Grandronde, Oregon, remaining there for
four years and engaging in farming and also in the mercantile line. As
his wife did not recover her health he took her to Napa, California, where
he secured employment as a bridge-builder on the Southern Pacific Railroad.
His wife there died, and he then returned to Oregon and was appointed car-
penter at the Grandronde Indian reservation, and also served as temporary
Indian agent. In 1872 lie removed to Whatcom county, Washington, and
entered one hundred and sixty acres of land, continuing to reside there the
balance of his life and making it one of the finest improved farms in the
county. He possessed excellent judgment in business and served as justice
of the peace for a number of years, and was also a member of the territorial
senate for two sessions, there using his influence to advance the interests of
the county of his choice. In politics he had been a Democrat until the Civil
war and then became an ardent Republican until quite late in life, when, on
account of his advanced views in regard to tenure of office, he became in-
dependent in his political views. He died in January, 1901. He had
brought with him while crossing the plains his young wife and their first
child, William, who died at sea when twenty-three years of age. Later four
children were born to them on the coast.
Captain Reinhart received his education in the San Jose Institute and
Commercial College, and in the Willamette University at Salem, Oregon.
At the age of fifteen he began earning his own living by clerking in a store
in Salem ; later learned typesetting in the Pugct Sound Currier, and followed
the occupation of a printer in a number of offices, among them the Oregon
Statesman. Finally he was in the office of the surveyor general, and in
1879 he engaged in the saddle and harness business with Mr. Downer, first
at Stay ton. then in East Portland, Oregon, and later in Goldendale, Wash-
ington, but in 1884 he sold his interest in that business and purchased a
share in the Klickatat Sentinel. It was then consolidated with the Golden-
dale Gazette, and continued under the latter name, with Judge R. O. Dunbar
as editor and Mr. Reinhart as foreman of the pressroom. In the following
year Judge Dunbar resigned, and Captain Reinhart was elected editor and
manager, continuing in that capacity until March 4. 1S91, at which time he
received the appointment of clerk of the supreme court. He then removed
his family to Olympia, where he has since continued to reside, taking a
1G HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
prominent part in the affairs pertaining to the welfare of the city in which
he was born. Immediately upon being appointed clerk of the supreme court,
Captain Reinhart commenced the study of the law under the instruction of
Mr. James A. Haight, assistant attorney general, and in 1895 was examined
and admitted to the bar by the supreme court and, while he has never entered
into the general practice of law, he has been a member of the committee and
has assisted in examining every attorney who has been examined touching
his qualifications for admission in the state since the May term, 1897. He
has served three terms as mayor of Olympia, and was also elected a member
of the territorial legislature, but before it convened the territory was ad-
mitted as a state in 1889. In 1885 Mr. Reinhart assisted in the organization
of Company B of the Second National Guards of Washington. He was
first appointed sergeant, next commissioned lieutenant and soon afterward
captain, in which capacity he served for four years. Then, at Olympia, in
December, 1891, Company A of the First National Guards of Washington
was formed, and Captain Reinhart was made its captain at once. While
in this position he organized the company and made it one of the best in the
state. At the present time he is filling the important office of supreme
court clerk, and is giving excellent satisfaction. He is also president of the
Olympia National Bank and owns considerable property interests in Thurs-
ton and other counties of the state.
His marriage occurred in 1877, his wife being Clara Downer, a native
of Oregon and a daughter of J. W. Downer, who was a pioneer of 1847.
This union has been blessed with six children: William W., who is now in
the First National Bank of Pendleton; Anna, lone, Eva Ruth, Carroll B.
and Helen Lucile. Mr. Reinhart is a valued member of the Masonic fra-
ternity and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, taking an active part
in both these organizations. His wife is a member of the Christian church,
and the whole family are highly esteemed and respected in the city in which
he has served so faithfully in different offices.
HON. STANTON WARBURTON.
James A. Warburton, who was born in England, came to this country
with his parents when he was but three years old. The family settled in
Pennsylvania in 1833 and remained there until 1869, when they came to
Cherokee county, Iowa, where James still makes his home, being one of the
substantial farmers of that place. The lady who became his wife, Sarah
Bedford, was also of English birth, and is still living.
There were tw-elve children in the family of these worthy people, and
the son Stanton was born in Sullivan county, Pennsylvania, in April, 1865.
Being four years of age at the time of the removal of his father to Iowa, his
boyhood was spent in that state, where he alternately attended the district
school and worked <>n the farm until he was sixteen years old. There was a
constant and inherent desire within him to gain a good education and place
himself on an equal plane of opportunity with other men, so at this age he
entered (he high school and paid his expenses by outside work, and did the
same at Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was graduated in June,
oJk^-^L/^^^w^
THE NEW- YORK
PUBUC. LIBRARY
ASTOR. LENOX AND
JT1LDEN FOUNDATIONS!
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 17
1888. In addition to all the labor required to carry through this undertaking
successfully he had found time to read law for about a year and a half, and
when, August, 1888, he came to Tacoma, he at once continued his study in
the office of Judson, Sharpstein and Sullivan. His energetic efforts gained
him admission to the bar in May, 1889, and since that time he has advanced
into the front rank of the practicing attorneys of the city and county.
Mr. Warburton is secretary and general attorney for the Tacoma Indus-
trial Company, a concern which has been recently organized for the purpose
of developing electricity from the immense water power which annually goes
to waste, thus increasing the industrial and manufacturing facilities of Ta-
coma. Mr. Warburton has taken a leading part in Republican politics, and
in 1896 was elected to the state senate for a term of four years, and in 1900
was re-elected for the same length of time. He has been on the judiciary
committee since he took his seat in that body, and during the last session
was its chairman ; he has also served on labor statistics and other committees.
His law office is at 310 Fidelity building. This brief biography is sufficient
to indicate that Mr. Warburton is a broad-minded man, and has become in-
fluential in politics, business and the law. In October, 1890, he was married
at Garner, Iowa, to Miss Iris Brockway, and. they have three children, whose
names are Leota, Maud and Stanton. Jr.
ALVIN B. SCOTT.
Alvin B. Scott, who is connected with the real estate and loan business
in Tacoma, was born in Penobscot county, Maine, in 1847, being a son of
Luther M. and Caroline (Smith) Scott. The father, who is also a
native of the old Pine Tree state, was of Scotch descent and a member of
an old New England family who traced their ancestry back to the Revolu-
tionary war. Mr. Scott was a farmer and lumberman by occupation, and
in 1883 he made his way to Minnesota, locating near the city of Duluth.
where he lived practically retired from the active cares of a business life until
he was summoned into eternal rest, his death occurring in 1899. His
widow, who also claims Maine as the state of her nativity, is still living in
Minnesota. This worthy couple had four sons who loyally aided their
country during the Civil war, three serving as members of the First Maine
Heavy Artillery, as follows: John B., who was called upon to lay down his
life on the altar of his country, having been killed in the charge at Peters-
burg in June, 1864; David S., who a member of the Sixteenth Maine Infan-
try, and was two or three times wounded in battle; William W., who had
his hand shot away in the last battle in which his regiment took part ; and
Henry H, who was wounded in the side at Petersburg. These brave sol-
dier boys nobly proved their loyalty to the stars and stripes. Another son,
Franklin P. Scott, makes his home at Snohomish. Washington, being one of
the early pioneers of the Puget Sound country.
Alvin B. Scott was reared on the parental farm and after receiving his '
education engaged in the lumber industry during the winter months, as
was then the custom generally of the agriculturists of that section. About
the year 1866 he made his way to Michigan, where for about a year he was
18 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
engaged in the lumber business, returning thence to Maine and resuming the
same occupation. He was also connected with lumber manufacturing con-
cerns at Lewiston and Waterville, that state, and in the former city, in 1873,
he was united in marriage with Miss Urania Babcock, a native of Maine,
and after a residence of about three years in Waterville Mr. and Mrs. Scott
decided to seek a home in the west, accordingly taking up their abode in the
Red River valley in Minnesota. This was during the year 1878 and about
the time of the first rush of settlers into that section, and from that year
until 1883 Mr. Scott was engaged in farming and the retail lumber trade at
Fisher, Minnesota. The latter year witnessed his arrival in Tacoma, Wash-
ington, where for a time he was engaged in the same occupation, but as the
business interests assumed a brighter aspect he readily discerned a good
opening for real estate transactions. Therefore, since 1888 he has been en-
gaged in real estate and loans, his office being located at 306 California
building.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Scott has been brightened and blessed by
the presence of two children, Ernest L. and Bessie G. The elder, Ernest
L. Scott, graduated in the Tacoma high school in 1894 and in the Tacoma
Business College in 1897, in which year he was appointed a clerk in the
postoffice, and he seived in nearly all the departments connected with the
office. In 1900 he was made a deputy under United States Marshal C. W.
Ide, and in August, 1902, was appointed private secretary for that gentle-
man, who is now government collector of customs at Port Townsend.
s^
LAWSON A. NICHOLSON.
Opportunity for advancement is never denied the business man. In
political and military circles only certain prizes can be won, and few there
are who can gain these, but in the field of industrial, commercial or profes-
sional activity opportunity is almost limitless. There is always room at the
top, and it is toward that place that Lawson A. Nicholson has been steadily
advancing until he now occupies a very creditable and enviable position in
the ranks of the civil engineers of the northwest. Fie is the senior member
of the firm of Nicholson & Bullard, of Tacoma, and is widely known for
his ability.
Born in Stockton, California, in 1866, Mr. Nicholson is a son of the
Rev. Albert S. and Mary (Warner) Nicholson, the former an Episcopalian
clergyman who was born in Pennsylvania and in 1862 crossed the plains to
California. He accepted an important charge in Stockton, where he re-
mained until 1868, when he removed to Vancouver, Washington, building
there a church and parish which will long remain a monument to his faithful
work. In later life he removed to Tacoma, where he died in 1893, but his
memory is still enshrined in the hearts of many who knew him. His widow,
who was born in Michigan, is still living near Tacoma.
Lawson A. Nicholson obtained a broad and thorough education under
private tutors, and it was in this way and by private study that he fitted
himself for the work. A native of the Pacific coast and a factor in the up-
building of a new commonwealth, his youth was spent where there were no
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 19
advantages of technical training such as abound to-day, but he took up the
study and mastered the great scientific principles, to which he added knowl-
edge gained through practical experience. He began the practice of his
profession in Tacoma, where he has since remaind with the exception of two
years spent in Everett. In that time he has done much important work. He
was engineer for the state harbor line commission and surveyed the harbors
of Sidney, Marysville and Snohomish; was city- engineer of Everett for one
term, and had charge of some important work for Rucker Brothers of that
city. He does a general engineering business, necessarily covering a wide
range, although his time of late years has been more exclusively devoted to
street railroad construction.
In 1892 Mr. Nicholson was united in marriage to Mrs. Elizabeth Mar-
tin James, and they have two children, Harold and Charles, while there is
also a stepson, Morton, who is a member of Mr. Nicholson's household.
Mr. Nicholson is a member of the Pacific Northwest Society of Engineers.
His offices are located at Nos. 506-507 Fidelity building. His long resi-
dence in the state adds a comprehensive knowledge of the country to his
other acquirements, and he enjoys the confidence and patronage of a large
clientele. Flis advancement has been worthily won and his success is
richly merited.
HON. CALVIN S. BARLOW.
To the adventurous voyager as he sailed his bark in the early part of
the seventeenth century along the eastern shore of the Atlantic, the country
looked uninviting enough, and the hostile wilderness stretched out before
him so that even the most imaginative could hardly foresee the day when
they would become cleared away for civilization's haunts. And two hun-
dred years later the traveler coasting along the western borders on the shore
of the Pacific would have seen the same dense and primeval wilderness con-
fronting him, and only by revelation would he have seen the wonderful
transformation that has been wrought in a century. But the course of em-
pire has swept from east to west and made this a land of milk and honey
from ocean to ocean. It is an interesting fact that the Barlow family has
been closely identified with this progress and development of three cen-
turies, and its representative whose life history is given here had the fortune
to be born in this unsettled region of the west, just as some of his ancestors
were born in the east when civilization was struggling to gain a foot-
hold there.
The original progenitor of this family was the Rev. William Barlow,
who was a clergyman of distinction in England, also a philosopher, and was
famed as the inventor of the hanging compass, which he perfected in 1601.
His son George was also a minister, and was one of the early emigrants
from England to America. He located at Exeter, Massachusetts, in 1639.
He preached for a while, but. as in many other cases, freedom of belief was
frowned upon, and he was forbidden to promulgate his doctrines by the gen-
eral court of the colony. He then moved to Plymouth, where he carried
on the practice of law. George Barlow's grandson. Aaron, has been known
to posterity as one of the founders of Rochester, Massachusetts, in 1684,
20 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
and in 1701 was a representative or deputy to the general court at Plymouth.
Samuel, the son of Aaron, was a soldier in the French and Indian wars.
His brother Aaron was one of a committee chosen by the town of Rochester
to suppress intemperance, and was a member of Captain Hammond's com-
pany in the Rhode Island alarm of 1776, and in the following year he joined
Captain John Granger's company and was in the campaign along the
Hudson. Samuel was also a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and when it
closed removed to what later became known as Monteville, in Montgomery
county, New York.
George, the son of Samuel, was born in Montgomery county, New
York, in 1S08. The Erie canal was the scene of his activity in his youth,
and he became the captain of one of the boats that plied on that important
highway of commerce. From there he made his way to Michigan, where
he was employed at the carpenter's trade. In 1852 he gathered together
some of his portable property, and with a wagon and an ox-team set out for
Oregon, but it was six months before his eyes were gladdened with the sight
of the beautiful valleys of that territory. In 1854 he moved over into
Washington and settled on a farm in Cowlitz county, situated on the Co-
lumbia river two miles below Mount Coffin. He spent the remainder of his
life here, and in 1887. while on a visit to Portland, died suddenly as he was
sitting in his chair. He was married in 1833 to Mary Ann Purdy, who died
in Cowlitz county in 1864.
Calvin S. Barlow was the son of George Barlow, and he has the dis-
tinction of being born in Cowlitz county, Washington, as long ago as 1856,
a very early date for the states of the west. Flis early life was spent on a
farm. He was ambitious and eager to gain an education, and for five years
engaged in the great industry of the Columbia river, salmon fishing, in
order to pay his way through college ; in this way he was able to attend the
Pacific University at Forest Grove, Oregon, one of the first colleges in that
state. He finished his schooling at the age of twenty-one, and in 1877 went
to Tacoma, then a small village, where he was in the butcher business for
three years. He had some innate faculties as a man of business, and so
much confidence had he gained by this time that he ventured to establish
the Tacoma Trading Company, of which he is now the president and his
son George the secretary. This is now one of the large firms of the city,
and is the oldest and largest house of its kind; the company deals in build-
ing material, sewer pipe, coal, etc., and it has probably supplied three-fourths
of all the lime used in the buildings now standing in Tacoma. Mr. Barlow
is also interested in some large holdings of real estate, and mining and other
business enterprises.
Mr. Barlow is one of the charter members and a trustee of the Chamber
of Commerce of the city. He is popular in the community, and was one of
the few Republicans who were successful candidates in the Populistic year
of 1897, being elected to the state legislature. He was married in 1S81 to
Miss Hertilla M. Burr, who lived on an adjoining farm in Cowlitz county.
They are the parents of six children: George C. Allan B., Calvin R., Doug-
las L., Hertilla and Mildred, lie and his wife are members of the First
Methodist church, and he is one of the trustees. Their home is at 222
St. Helens avenue.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 21
JOHN W. BERRY.
This sketch is concerned with a very successful citizen of Tacoma, one
who has followed a trade for many years, and at the same time his genius
for mechanical invention has enabled him to give to the world a device
which will increase the present wonderful effectiveness of much labor-saving
machinery. The parents of John W. Berry were Preston A. and Martha
Jane (Harris) Berry. The former was born at Greenfield, Illinois, and in
the early days located on a farm near Jacksonville, in Morgan county. Illinois.
He afterward moved into Jacksonville and did a large business in buying
and selling live-stock of all kinds. He was also one of the argonauts of
the early fifties, crossing the plains to California with an ox-team, and he
made considerable money by locating, and then selling, gold claims. He
made another trip in 1862, and the last years of his life were spent in Tacoma
with his son, where he died in 1889. His wife, who was born and reared
in Morgan county, Illinois, and was of one of the old families there, is now
sixty-nine years old and is living with her son John.
John W. Berry was born near Jacksonville, Morgan county, Illinois, in
1857, and until he was fourteen years old remained on the farm and went to
school. At that age he determined to learn a trade, and accordingly went
into a grist mill in Jacksonville, where he wrorked for seven years, and
learned all the ins and outs. of the business. He then took a position in a
mill in Marion, Williamson county, Illinois, but remained there only a year,
during which time the special incident worth noting was that he was con-
verted in a revival at the Methodist church, and has been active in religious
work ever since. Montezuma, Indiana, was the next home of Mr. Berry,
where he was employed as a miller until he was twenty-six years old, and
he then bought out the mill and began business for himself. In 1887 he sold
out and came to Tacoma with the intention of following the same line of
enterprise here. But just at this time there was a building boom on, and
he was diverted from his original plan, and for the following year and a
half was engaged in brick-making; he made the brick for the first four-story
brick building in Tacoma, the Northern Pacific headquarters, and this is
still one of the best structures in the city. Then for six months he and his
father dealt in horses, at the end of which time the opportunity seemed to
be at hand for embarking in his original enterprise. He organized the Cas-
cade Oatmeal Company, which later became the Cascade Cereal Company,
and built the first oat and cereal mill in the west. This mill was erected on
Jefferson avenue, between Twenty-third and Twenty-fifth streets, and is
still standing, although the plant has been greatly improved and added to
from time to time. It has been equipped as a high-grade flour mill, and
the very best of rolled oats, cereals and flours are now manufactured. Mr.
Berry did not have an unbroken course of prosperity, for in the panic of
1893 he lost the mill, but after four years of hard work he regained his
former interest in the company, and has since been its manager; in this
connection it should be mentioned that when the plant was established it
did a business of two thousand dollars a month, which has since been in-
creased to thirty-five thousand dollars a month.
22 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Mr. Berry, as has been said, has a knack for mechanical invention, and
in his work with mill machinery he invented an automatic self-tightening
split-wood pulley, with safety set collar. To manufacture this he organized
in 1901 the Deming-Berry Company, and installed a plant on Jefferson
avenue adjoining the Cascade mill. There were but two regular employes
at first, but now it requires fifty to fill the orders, and this phenomenal in-
crease has led to the forming of plans for the erection of a large plant for
the manufacture of this valuable mechanical device. The plant is to be
located on Center street, and is to consist of a two-story brick factory, ware-
house and a brick dry-kiln, and the power will be furnished by electricity,
developed from two boilers to the amount of two hundred horsepower. Very
little new machinery will be needed, as the former plant is well equipped
with a forge and all machinery necessary. This important addition to Ta-
coma's industrial plants will be in operation before the end of the year, and
there is no doubt that the gentlemen who are at the head of the concern will
reap rich profits. The company has the following officers : Charles K.
Harley, of San Francisco, president and general manager; John W. Berry,
vice president and treasurer; Edward C. Grant, secretary; and the board of
directors consists of Charles K. Harley, J. D. Deming, Jr., E. T. Messenger,
of the Hunt-Mottet Hardware Company, John W. Berry and Edward
C. Grant.
Mr. Berry was married at Jacksonville, Illinois, in November, 1879,
to Miss Lillian M. Ball, of that city; they have four children living: Preston
A., aged eighteen, who is the bookkeeper for the Cascade Cereal Company;
Grace McCune Berry, aged ten; John W., who is five; and Harry B., three
years old. Mr. Berry's interest in religion has already been mentioned, and
he has a liking for the old-fashioned Methodism. He is a member of the
Epworth Methodist Episcopal church in Tacoma, has been a member of
the official board ever since it was organized, and for seven years was super-
intendent of the Sunday school, at present being a teacher of a class of
twenty-five young ladies. Fraternally Mr. Berry is an Odd Fellow and a
Forester.
AARON R. TITLOW.
Aaron Titlow was born in the early part of the last century in the state
of Pennsylvania, and was a descendant from a family of Dutch who had
been among the first settlers of that wonderfully cosmopolitan state. When
he was a young man he removed into Ohio, but in 1859 came on farther
west and located in Delphi, Indiana, where he is still living, at the age of
seventy-four. During his vigorous manhood he followed farming, and even
now continues his business activity by engaging in selling ice. The maiden
name of his wife was Jane Casad, a lady born in Ohio, but of English de-
scent ; she is still living.
These worthy people had a farm near Dayton, Ohio, and it was on this
place that Aaron R. Titlow was born on November 22, 1857. He spent
only two years on this farm before bis parents went to Indiana, where he
grew up as a farm lad and during the school season went back and forth
to the Delphi public school. He early conceived the notion of becoming a
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 23
lawyer, and he gained his first knowledge of Blackstone at Delphi, but later
entered the law department of Washington University at St. Louis, one of
the foremost law schools of the country. He had the advantage of instruc-
tion from some of the most distinguished lawyers, the dean of the university
at that time being William G. Hammond, a noted attorney and a man of
remarkable scholarship. After his graduation in 1885 Mr. Titlow returned
to Delphi, where he was at once admitted to the bar. He was now amply
prepared for his profession, and the question was where he should first launch
his legal career. There seemed to be great possibilities in the south, and
he made Chattanooga his goal. But, like many aspiring young men who
have since risen to a place of eminence, he was short of the sine qua non.
and was compelled to borrow sixty dollars to keep him going until he should
do some business. He was admitted to practice in Chattanooga in 1886
and remained there eighteen months, first as a member of the firm of Titlow
and Walker, later of Russell, Titlow and Daniels. He had gained a fair
start there, but about this time Washington territory seemed to bid fair to
soon become a state, and the inducements to a man of restless energy and
enterprise seemed better there than in the more developed regions, so in
1888 he came to Tacoma. He has had no occasion to regret this move, for
he has been very successful not only in the practice of his profession but in
business. In 1S96 he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of
prosecuting attorney and served a term of two years, with entire satisfac-
tion to his constituents. When he first came to Tacoma he invested heavily
in real estate, and this has now become very valuable, so that he is in "easy"
circumstances. He owns about three hundred town lots, also three farms in
Pierce county.
Mr. Titlow has his office at 202-203-204 National Bank of Commerce
building. On April 26, 1893, he was married at Dayton, Ohio, to Miss
Stella Smart, and three beautiful daughters have come into their home.
The eldest is lone Marguerite, and then come Constance Clara and Mar-
celle Isabelle.
REUBEN F. LAFFOON.
Reuben F. Laffoon, whose law office is located at No. 303 Chamber of
Commerce building, in Tacoma, and who has gained prestige as a member
of the Pierce county bar, was born in Claiborne county, Tennessee, in Marcb,
1854, his parents being Drewry and Minerva (Stone) Laffoon, the former
a native of North Carolina and the latter of Tennessee. When a young
man the father left his native state and removed to east Tennessee, living
in Claiborne county, where he followed farming for .a number of years. In
the fall of 1859 the family removed to Cass county, on the western border
of Missouri, making the trip by wagon, and there the father purchased a
farm. During the fierce and bitter border warfare that took place in that
region prior to and during the Civil war, the family suffered many hardships.
Mrs. Laffoon furnished food to all the soldiers, both Union and Confederate,
who sought aid at their house, which was situated upon a much-traveled
public road, and on account of this liberality the family larder was finally
24 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
reduced to one article of food, wheat bran. When the troubles and dangers
became too great to be longer borne, the family went north, settling at
Nebraska City, Nebraska, where they remained until they could return in
safety to Missouri. On again going to Cass county they found that the
farm had been utterly despoiled and burned over. Mr. and Mrs. Lafroon,
being southern people, had sympathized with the Confederate cause, al-
though both of them had several brothers in the Union army. They are
still living upon the old Cass county farm, which they purchased in 1859,
and are now well-to-do people.
In the schools near his home Reuben F. Laffoon acquired his early lit-
erary education, which he completed in the Southwest Missouri State Normal
School at Warrensburg. At the age of nineteen years he left home and
became a pioneer in western Kansas, then a frontier region. For several
years he taught school in both Missouri and Kansas and read law in the
meantime. He traveled extensively all over the western and southwestern
country, including Texas and Colorado, having a liking for western pio-
neer life.
When he had mastered the principles of jurisprudence demanded for
law practice, Mr. Laffoon was admitted to the bar at Coldwater, Kansas,
in 1886, and, after practicing there for a few months, came to Tacoma in
1887. During his first year"s residence here he engaged in the real estate
business, and then resumed the active practice of law, in which he has been
engaged ever since, with the exception of nearly three years, which he spent
in the mining business in Nevada. He takes considerable interest in mining
and is financially connected with some mining companies, both in Washing-
ton and Alaska. In his law practice he is making somewhat of a specialty
of mining law, for which he has thoroughly equipped himself, his practical
as well as theoretical knowledge being such as to make him unusually com-
petent in that branch. Mr. Laffoon is devoted to his profession, devotes
deep study and careful research to every point coming up in connection with
his practice, and is a successful and well trained lawyer, whose devotion to
his clients' interest is proverbial.
In 1880, in Missouri, Mr. Laffoon married Miss Emma Pearman, and
they have two daughters, Agnes and Emma, and their home is at 3522
South Eighth street. Owing his advancement to no outside aid or influence,
but to the development and application of his inherent qualities and talents,
he has steadily worked his way upward, and is now classed among the
prominent lawyers of his adopted city.
JOHN L. McMURRAY.
The name of John L. McMurray is inscribed on the pages of Wash-
ington's history in connection with the records of her jurisprudence. In ad-
dition to the duties connected with his legal practice he is also serving as the
president of the Washington Power Company, of Tacoma, as well as di-
rector in several other financial and industrial companies. He was born in
Wood county, Ohio, January 10, 1862, and is a son of James W. and Jane
(Leathers) McMurray. On the paternal side he is of Scotch-Irish descent,
*xd*^
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XSTOR. LENOX AND
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HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 25
his ancestors having come from the north of Ireland, while maternally he is
of New England ancestry. James W. McMurray, the father, was born in
Ohio, and was noted as being a very fine mechanic, while he was also a land
proprietor. During the Civil war he enlisted for a three months' service,
and owing to physical disabilities was discharged on the expiration of that
period. One of his brothers was called upon to lay down his life on the
altar of his country during that memorable struggle, having been starved to
death in Andersonville prison, while his brother-in-law, John Leathers, was
killed in battle during the war of the rebellion. A second cousin of our
subject died of wounds therein received, and three or four other members of
this patriotic family nobly served their country in its hour of need, but came
out of the war unscathed. After the close of the struggle James W. Mc-
Murray removed with his family to Allen county, Indiana, where in 1868
he was murdered by robbers who waylaid him one night on his way home
from Fort Wayne. After his death the family returned to Ohio, and there
the mother's death occurred in 1872..
John L. McMurray was the eldes.t .of his parents' five children, four sons
and one daughter, and was but six' years old at the time of his father's death.
At a very early age he began work on his uncle's farm near Van Buren, Han-
cock county, Ohio, with whom he remained tor thirteen years, during which
time he worked incessantly to procure an education, attending district school
three months each winter. When but fifteen years of age he was granted a
teacher's certificate, following the occupation of teaching during the winter
months, while during the summer seasons he worked at farm labor, and
during this time he also attended school to some extent in Findlay, Ohio.
Desiring to prepare for college, at the age of eighteen he matriculated in the
Phillip Exeter Academy, at Exeter, New Hampshire, where he spent two
and a half years, during which time he not only received a thorough pre-
paratory education, but in addition had the advantage of holding the position
of private secretary to the academy's president, Professor Walter Quincy
Scott, a man of brilliant scholarly attainments. In discharging the duties
connected with that position it was Mr. McMurray's privilege to become ac-
quainted with and to come in close personal relations with some of the most
distinguished scholars and educators in this country, among them being Presi-
dent Eliot, of Harvard; Porter, of Yale; McCosh, of Princeton; C.ilman,
of the Johns Hopkins; Edward Everett Hale and Bishop Phillips Brooks.
At Exeter he made a special study of mathematics under Professor George
A. Wentworth, the well known author of mathematical text-books. After
this experience he returned to Columbus, Ohio, and studied at the State Uni-
versity there for the following two and a half years, pursuing physics under
Thomas C. Mendenhall, Ph. D., and chemistry under Percy D. Norton,
Sc. D., noted educators and authors of text-books in their respective branches.
During this time Mr. McMurray had also studied law privately to some
extent, and in 1886 went to New York to complete his legal studies.
Through introduction secured for him by Principal Scott, of Phillip Exeter
Academy, he was enabled to pursue his legal training under the former's
brother, "Hon. William F. Scott, in the law office of Schell, Hutchins & Piatt,
one of the leading firms of New York city. Here again he was enabled to
20 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
come in contact with men of large affairs, such as Abram Hewitt, mayor of
New York city; Augustus Schell, a Tammany leader; Hon. Waldo Hutch-
ins, Hon. William Sulzer, and Roscoe Conkling. He remained there for
three years, at the expiration of which period he was admitted to the bar. In
1889 Mr. McMurray came to the northwest Pacific coast, and, stopping at
Tacoma, was so favorably impressed with the surroundings that he decided
to remain, accepting a position as reporter on the Tacoma Ledger, which he
continued to fill for the following fourteen months. On the 1st of January,
1 89 1, he opened a law office in this city, where he has since continuously re-
mained, now controlling one of the largest private practices in Tacoma. He
served as a justice of the peace for four years, during which time he handled
about two thousand cases, and for two years was the deputy prosecuting
attorney for Pierce county. He is a prominent Republican leader, and at
one time was a candidate for nomination to the judgeship of the su-
perior court.
After his arrival in the northwest Mr. McMurray secured a quarter
section of government land in the southern part of Pierce county, four miles
southwest of Eatonville, on which he has a pleasant residence and on which
there is a splendid timber tract and other valuable resources. On this claim
the Nisqually river flows through a gorge and makes a waterfall of such
power as to render it of great value in the future industrial development of
this section. For the purpose of utilizing this Mr. McMurray has organized
the Washington Power Company, of which he is the president. Across the
Nisqually he has built an aerial tramway, and has also constructed a sub-
stantial bridge two hundred and fifty feet above the water. The Tacoma
Eastern Railroad now runs through this property.
Mr. McMurray is accorded a prominent position in the business and
professional circles of the state of Washington, and his career is proving an
honor to the commonwealth of his adoption. In his fraternal relations he is
a Royal Arch Mason. He is also a past exalted ruler of the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, and past great sachem of the Improved Order of
Red Men, having been the first great sachem for the order in the state of
Washington.
RALPH METCALF.
The great forests of the northwest are the source of much of the wealth
and the business activity of this portion of the country. From the time when
the trees are felled until they are converted into marketable commodities for
constructive purposes, the work comprises various kinds and processes of
labor, and many men are employed in carrying on the logging and lumber
business and kindred industries. Mr. Metcalf, who won considerable reputa-
tion west of the Mississippi as a journalist and was first known to the people
of Tacoma in that capacity, is now a representative of one of the lines of busi-
ness to which the forests give rise, being the secretary and treasurer of the
Metcalf Shingle Company of Tacoma.
A native of Providence, Rhode Island, he was born in 1861, a son of
Alfred and Rosa Clinton (Meloy) Metcalf. The father was born in Provi-
dence, where he is still living, and the city has been the home of the Metcalfs
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 27
through many generations. The progenitor of the family in this country
landed in America in 1629. The mother of our subject is also living, and
is of English descent.
Ralph Metcalf is a college-bred man, and until within the last few years
was prominent in newspaper work. He was fitted for responsible positions
in business life by attendance at Brown University, at Cambridge, and the
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, being graduated from the last-named
institution in 1883. During his college days at Ann Arbor he was prom-
inent in athletic circles, and was manager of the baseball team. On leaving
college he entered the newspaper field at Winona, Minnesota, where he pur-
chased the Daily Herald and became its editor. Most of his best newspaper
work, however, was done at St. Paul, on the Pioneer Press. For several
years he was located in that city, and then came to Tacoma in 1889.
Here Mr. Metcalf became editor and proprietor of the Tacoma Morn-
ing Globe, with which journal he was thus connected until 1893, when he
sold his interests in the paper, which at that time was absorbed by The
Ledger. He then went into the shingle mill business, which resulted in
the formation of the Metcalf Shingle Company. In 1902 the business was
incorporated, with a paid-up capital of one hundred thousand dollars, with
Louis D. Campbell, now mayor of Tacoma, as the president, and Mr. Met-
calf as the secretary and treasurer. This is a flourishing and growing en-
terprise, with a daily output of nearly one million shingles, and the demand
equals the capacity of the plant. The business has reached profitable pro-
portions, and the office is now located at 508 Fidelity building, while the
mills, two in number, are situated at Kelso and Castle Rock.
Mr. Metcalf was married in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Miss Edith Simp-
son, and they have one child, Elizabeth. In Tacoma they are now widely
and favorably known, and Mr. Metcalf possesses the typical spirit of western
enterprise and progress, which, brooking no obstacles that can be overcome
by persistent and honorable effort, has led to the wonderful commercial and
industrial development of Washington.
JUDGE JOHN C. STALLCUP.
One of the distinguished citizens of Tacoma is Judge John C. Stallcup,
prominent in citizenship and as a lawyer and jurist. He is one of the recog-
nized leaders of Democracy in Washington, and has for a number of years
been recognized as a molder of public thought and opinion here. He has
carved his name deeply upon the political and legal records of the state, and
his career has been an honor to the commonwealth which has honored him.
Judge Stallcup was born in Georgetown, Columbiana county, Ohio,
February 8, 1841, and is a son of Moses D. and Mary (Chamberlain) Stall-
cup. His father was torn in Virginia of an old family of that state, and
when a young man removed to Ohio, where he entered upon the practice of
law and for many years continued a member of the bar there. He died in
Ohio in 1867, and his wife also passed away in that state. She was born in
Ohio of Pennsylvania Quaker parentage.
2S HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
When the Judge was about four years of age his parents removed from
Columbiana to Stark county, Ohio, locating at Mount Union, which is now
a part of Alliance, Ohio. He there attended the public schools and later con-
tinued his education in Mount Union College. When he had completed his
collegiate work he removed to New Lisbon, Columbiana county, in order
that he might there take up the study of law, and, having mastered many of
the principles of jurisprudence, he was admitted to the bar at that place in
1864. There he opened an office and practiced for two years, after which
he returned to Alliance, where he lived until 1877, when he started west-
ward and established his home first in Denver, Colorado. For twelve years he
was a prominent practitioner in that city, having a distinctively representative
clientage, which connected him with much of the important litigation tried
in the courts of his district. He was also prominent in political circles, and
was appointed by Governor Adams of Colorado as judge of the supreme
court commission, which position he held for several years, discharging his
duties in a manner that won him high encomiums from the public. He was
a leading figure in local Democratic circles, and for three times was unani-
mously chosen chairman of the Arapahoe county Democratic central com-
mittee. Again he was urged to accept the chairmanship, but on the fourth
occasion he refused. He was also nominated for state senator. His sterling
qualities had won for him the friendship of Senator Wolcott, who voted for
Judge Stallcup, although he was a Republican. He also gained the close
friendship of T. M. Patterson, Alva Adams and other distinguished leaders
of the Republican party in Colorado.
In 1880 Judge Stallcup was united in marriage in St. Louis, Missouri,
to Miss Mary Pindle Shelby, a representative of one of the aristocratic families
of Lexington, Kentucky. Her great-grandfather, Dr. Pindle, was a surgeon
of the Revolutionary war, and others of the name have been co-operant fac-
tors in affairs that have shaped the history of their respective states. To the
Judge and his wife have been born three children : Margery, John and Evan
Shelby.
The year 1889 witnessed the arrival of Judge Stallcup in Tacoma, where
he opened a law office and began practice. In 1892 he was elected judge of
the superior court on a non-partisan ticket, and for four years filled that
position, after which he served for a short time as city attorney by appoint-
ment of Mayor Fawcett. His office is at 308-311 Equitable building, and his
residence at 317 Park Heights. His preparation of cases is most thorough
and exhaustive ; he seems almost intuitively to grasp the strong points of law
and fact ; while in his briefs and arguments the authorities are cited so exten-
sively and the facts and reasoning thereon are presented so cogently and unan-
swerably as to leave no doubt as to the correctness of his views or of his con-
clusion. No detail seems to escape him; every case is given its due promi-
nence, and the case is argued with such skill, ability and power that he rarely
fails to gain the verdict desired.
FRANK C. MORSE.
There are not many whose lives are recorded in this volume who are
native to the west; most of those who have arrived at middle age have been
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 29
born farther east and have cast in their lot with this country. But Mr. Frank
C. Morse, the genial assistant postmaster at Tacoma, has spent all his life in
the region west of the Rockies, and is therefore thoroughly imbued with the
enterprising spirit of the west. His father, Charles A. Morse, was born in
Boston, but in 1856 he went to San Francisco to take a position with the
extensive navy yard located on Mare Island. President Lincoln appointed
him to the position of naval storekeeper for the Mare Island navy yard, and
he held this office under successive administrations until 1875, 'when he
resigned. His death occurred in San Francisco in 1889. He married Caro-
line M. Sawyer, who was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, and died at
Alameda, California, in 1901. On both sides of the family the ancestors for
several generations back resided in this country, but the paternal stock was
originally English and Irish.
So it was that Frank C. was born in the west, his birth taking place at
the Mare Island navy yard on April 8, 1859. His boyhood was thus passed
among the interesting and sometimes stirring sights of the din and prepara-
tion for war, home-comings of the troops, and all that lends variety to such
a place. His education was completed at St. Augustine College^ Benicia,
California, where he studied three years, from 1874 to 1877. He first en-
gaged in business with the California representative for the Centemerie kid
gloves, made in Paris, continuing this for a little over a year. In 1879 ne
went to Portland, and after remaining there for seven months moved to the
young village of Colfax, Whitman county, Washington. He remained here
for ten years in the employ of Lippitt Brothers, general merchants, and in
May, 1889, President Harrison appointed him postmaster of Colfax, the
duties of which office he discharged for five years. Then being appointed
state bookkeeper by State Auditor Grimes, during Governor McGraw's ad-
ministration, he removed to Olympia to perform the duties of that position
and remained there for three years. Mr. Morse has lived in Tacoma since
1897, and on September 17, 1899, was made assistant postmaster under John
B. Cromwell, which position he now holds. He has had much experience in
Uncle Sam's service and is a very competent official.
Mr. Morse was married in 1887 at Lewiston. Idaho, to Miss Belle S.
Sullivan. She is the sister of Judge Sullivan, of Spokane, and of linn. P. C.
Sullivan, who is a prominent politician, was at one time candidate for gov-
ernor of Washington, and is now in Nome, Alaska. One child has been
born of the marriage, who died when two years of age. They live at their
nice home at 416 North Tacoma avenue. Mr. Morse is a Republican, hut
devotes all his time to his official duties. He is very loyal to his adopted
state, being especially fond of the eastern part, around Colfax, where he
made his home for so long.
THEODORE SHENKENBERG.
The city of Hamburg, Germany, has been famous in the world of com-
merce for centuries, and it was one of the strongest members of that greal
commercial union, known as the Hanseatic League, the most powerful indus-
trial alliance of the Middle Ages. And at the present time it is the center
for much of the world's trade by sea. It is not at rdl surprising, therefore,
30 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
that it should have given birth to many men who were noted in the counting
house, the bank, and in all lines of business and trade, and one of these, who
has cast his lot in with America and is now known as one of the best account-
ants in the state of Washington, is Theodore Shenkenberg, who occupies
several important positions with firms of high commercial standing in
Tacoma.
Mr. Shenkenberg was born in Hamburg in February, 1849. Tne
fact that he received his education in this German town is evidence enough
that he acquired a thorough, well rounded training, and, as he entered mercan-
tile life at a very early age, he became a skilled and careful accountant. It
happened that he was connected with a house which carried on correspondence
with England and the United States, and he therefore learned the English
language before coming to this country. He was only twenty years of age
when he came to this country in 1869, but he was thoroughly equipped for
his life work. He came west to Illinois and was employed in the capacity
of bookkeeper at a large nursery at Normal, but after a year he went to St.
Paul, Minnesota, and was a bookkeeper in several wholesale houses for two
years. We next find him at Fargo, North Dakota, acting as bookkeeper for
the Northern Pacific Railroad for a year. At Bismarck he was employed by
the Northern Pacific Coal Company, and while here his efficient work gained
the favorable attention of the president of the company, Colonel C. W.
Thompson, who is well known in Tacoma and is mentioned elsewhere in this
volume. Mr. Shenkenberg became the bookkeeper and chief clerk for Colonel
Thompson, and has been connected with that gentleman in business ever
since. They came to Tacoma in 1889, and Mr. Shenkenberg has become
an officer in each of the large concerns organized by Colonel Thompson, who
is the president of each. He is treasurer of the Washington Co-Operative
Mining Syndicate, which operates extensive coal and copper mines in the
Carbon river district in Pierce county ; is secretary of the Montezuma Mining
Company, which has copper and coal interests in the Tacoma mining district
of Pierce county ; and is secretary and treasurer of the Bella Coola Pulp and
Paper Company, which was recently organized for the purpose of building a
large paper mill in British Columbia.
Mr. Shenkenberg has been dependent on his own resources throughout
his life, and it was with his own earnings that he came to this country. It
has been through industry and painstaking endeavor that he has made his
present success, and no better proof of his ability can be asked than that he
has retained the utmost confidence of Colonel Thompson all these years and
has been entrusted with the details of his important business. Mr. Shenken-
berg was married in July, 1879, while he was residing at Bismarck, Miss
Elizabeth Glitschka becoming his wife. Their children are: Hortense, who
is deceased : Carl ; Theodore, deceased ; Ethel ; and Elizabeth.
JAMES T. GROVE.
Although a resident of Everett for but a brief period, James T. Grove
has already left the impress (if his individuality upon the business interests of
this city and is now the vice president of the Union Transfer Company. He
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 31
is a man of marked energy and force of character, readily comprehending
intricate business situations and carrying forward to successful completion
whatever he undertakes. Such a man is always of value to the industrial,
commercial and professional circles of any city.
Mr. Grove was born in Galena, Illinois, his birth occurring on the 29th
of December, 1857. He is a son of Frederick Grove, a native of Cornwall,
England, and who with his parents came to Illinois, settling in that state
about 1833. He was a butcher by trade, long following that calling in order
to provide for his family. He wedded Mary Jane Lawrence, who was born
in Illinois, representing one of the old families of that state, and of English
lineage. Mr. Grove passed away at the age of fifty-five years, and his wife
died when fifty-three years of age. They were the parents of three sons and
two daughters: Laurence; Charlie; Clara, who is the widow of W. J. Fair;
and Mary Ellen, who is now deceased.
The eldest member of the family is James T. Grove, who spent his boy-
hood days under the parental roof in the usual manner of lads of that period
and locality. Work and play occupied his time and attention, and in the
public schools of Galena he pursued his education until he attained the age
of eighteen years. He worked with his father in the butchering business after
leaving school, being thus engaged for about twelve years, and in 1887 he
went to Chicago, where he entered the employ of the West Division Chicago
Street Railway Company. His connection with that corporation continued
until 1898, when he came to the northwest, settling first in Seattle. After
working for Moran Brothers, ship-builders of Seattle, for a short time, he
came to Everett in the fall of 1898 and has since been engaged in the transfer
business here, buying out the Union Transfer Company. He incorporated
his business in 1903 with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars, and the
present officers are B. H. Vollans, president; J. T. Grove, vice-president; and
D. Darling, secretary. The company operates a general livery and also does
an extensive transfer business, of which Mr. Grove is general manager. The
business methods of the company are such as to gain public confidence, and,
therefore, the public support, and the success of the enterprise is largely due
to Mr. Grove.
On the 21st of January, 1887, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Grove
and Miss Isabella Gray, a native of Illinois and a daughter of John and
Isabella Gray, who were pioneer settlers of this state. Mr. Grove is a member
of the Modern Woodmen of the World, and also has membership relations
with the Knights of the Globe. In his political views he is a Republican, but
has had no time for public office, preferring to devote his energies to his
business affairs, wherein he is winning advancement and gaining for himself
a comfortable competence.
PETER L. OPSVIG.
Peter L. Opsvig is one of the younger representatives of the medical
fraternity, but his ability does not seem to be limited by the years of his
connection with the profession. He established his home and office in
Everett in the fall of 1900, and already has secured a good patronage here.
32 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Dr. Opsvig was born in Norway on the 3th of December, 1868, and is a
son of Lars and Karen Opsvig, both of whom were natives of Norway and
belonged to old families of the land of the midnight sun. The father fol-
lowed farming during the years of his active business career, thus providing
for the wants of his family. He is now living in Norway at the very advanced
age of eighty-six years, while his wife passed away in 1877. Peter Opsvig has
a brother, Louis P., who is residing in Everett, and also has a brother and
three sisters who are still living in the old country.
Peter L. Opsvig obtained his early education in the public schools of
Aalesund and afterward attended college there. He was graduated from
college in 1886, and later entered the University of Christiania, where he
completed the course with the class of 1889, winning the degree of Bachelor
of Arts. He began the study of medicine in the same institution, but after
one year he came to the United States and made his way to California, where
he matriculated in the medical department of the University of California.
In that institution he was graduated in 1900, and in the succeeding fall came
to Everett, where he has since been located. He was not long in demon-
strating his worthiness of public confidence, for in his practice he showed
marked skill and ability. He belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks, to the Royal Arcanum, to the Ancient Order of United Workmen
and the Fraternal Army of America, and in all of these organizations is a
valued representative, being true to the beneficent teachings upon which
they are founded and to the spirit of brotherly kindness and helpfulness
which they inculcate. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the
men and measures of the Republican party. Mr. Opsvig is a young man of
strong mentality and broad intellectual training, of laudable ambition and of
strong purpose, and in the land of his adoption he has already won recogni-
tion by reason of his professional skill and his many admirable personal
characteristics.
ALBERT L. VAN VALEY.
Albert Louis Van Valey, proprietor and manager of the Van Valey
Bottling Works of Everett, an enterprise which he has developed from a
small beginning to one of extensive and profitable proportions, was born on
the 9th of May, 1868, in Washington county, Ohio, a son of Moses A. and
Ruth A. (Morris) Van Valey, both of whom were natives of Ohio, while
the former was of Holland descent and the latter belonged to an old Ameri-
can family. The Van Valey ancestors came to the United States during the
early period of the country's development and established a home in the
state of New York long prior to the Revolutionary war. The father of our
subject was a farmer by occupation and removed from Ohio to Kansas,
where his wife died in 1875, when forty-four years of age. He long survived
her, and in 1893 came to Washington, where he spent his remaining days,
his death occurring in 1898. The onlv daughter of the family is Evvie L.,
now the wife of J. A. Cooper.
Albert L. Van Valey was but three years of age when his parents
removed to Kansas, and be pursued his education in the public schools of
Neosho county, that stale, until he was thirteen years of age, after which he
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 33
put aside his textbooks and worked on his father's farm, following that pur-
suit until 1890, when he came to Seattle, where he engaged with George T.
Maginnis & Company, as an employe in their bottling works. He spent six
years there, during which time he gained a thorough and comprehensive
knowledge of the business, becoming familiar with it in every detail. With
the capital he had acquired through his industry and enterprise, and well
qualified to carry on a similar enterprise of his own. he came to Everett in
September, 1896, and opened his business, beginning the bottling business,
however, on a small scale on Riverside. There he continued his operations
until he removed to his present location at 31.24 Paine avenue, where he now
conducts a general bottling business and manufactures all kinds of mineral
water and carbonated beverages. The plant is equipped with the latest im-
proved machinery, with appointments for carrying on an extensive trade,
which extends throughout the county.
On the 24th of December, 1892, at Seattle. Mr. Van Valey was united
in marriage to Miss Ella M. Ducey, a native of Missouri, and a daughter of
Patrick Ducey, who was of Irish lineage and came from the Emerald Isle to
America when a boy. He first resided in Missouri, and about 1870 removed
to Kansas. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Van Yaley has been blessed with
two daughters: Ruth Marie and Esther May, aged respectivelv six and
four years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Van Valey are we'll known in Everett, and
have gained the favorable regard and warm friendship of many with whom
they have come in contact. Mr. Van Valey belongs to a number of civil
societies, in which he takes a deep interest, holding membership with the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
In his political affiliations he is a Republican, but has never turned aside into
political paths to seek the honors and emoluments of office. Instead he has
given his undivided attention to his business interests, and through his close
application and capability has built up an enterprise which has grown to large
and profitable proportions.
GEORGE W. OSBORN.
George W. Osborn, a successful and well-to-do farmer who formerly
served as county commissioner of Thurston county, is a native of Ohio, his
birth having occurred in Fairfield county on the 27th of February, 1834.
His grandfather, Jacob Osborn. was born in Germany and emigrated to
Pennsylvania, in which state occurred the birth of Joshua Osborn. The
grandfather died in the Keystone state, and the widow and her family then
removed to Ohio, where Joshua became a farmer. Ultimately he removed
to Indiana, later becoming a representative of Branch county. Michigan,
where he spent his remaining days. He was married to Miss Harriet Rigby,
a native of West Virginia, who departed this life in the fifty-seventh year
of her age ; he died in 1893 in his eightieth year. They were valued mem-
bers of the Methodist church and were people of the highest respectability.
In their family were eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, five of
whom are now living, but George W. Osborn is the only representative of the
34 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
family in Washington. Four of his brothers served in the Civil war, and
one of them lost his life in the battle of Murfreesboro.
George W. Osborn obtained his education in the public schools of Indi-
ana, and when he reached the age of nineteen years he bought his time of his
father and worked as a farm hand, thus earning the money to pay his father
for the years which still remained of his minority. In 1869 he migrated to
the Pacific coast, and after one year spent at Shoalwater Bay made his^ way
to Thurston county, soon afterward locating upon his present farm at South
Bay.
In the spring of 1861 Mr. Osborn had been united in marriage to Mrs.
Minnie A. Carpenter, a daughter of Warren Wheaton. Three of her brothers
were also defenders of the Union cause in the Civil war, and the health of
each was undermined by the sufferings and hardships of that great sanguinary
struggle. By her first marriage Mrs. Osborn had four children, and to our
subject and his wife has been born a son, Louis W. Osborn, whose birth
occurred in 1862. He was educated in the public school, and is a talented
and capable young man, still with his parents.
In 1 87 1 Mr. Osborn erected a little log house in the midst of the forest;
a blanket was hung at the door, and the furnishings were of the most primi-
tive nature. All' around stood the forest of heavy pine timber, including
nineteen large trees upon the rise of ground where he decided to build his
house. One of these trees was nine feet in diameter, and when it had been
cut down streched along the ground the length of an entire acre. There were
many Indians in the country, and there was but one white woman between
the Osborn home and Olympia, and Mrs. Osborn. one of the brave pioneer
women of the early times, remained alone in the little cabin while her husband
was off earning a living at the carpenter trade. The first purchase of land
comprised forty acres, and to this additions were made from time to time as
the financial resources of Mr. Osborn increased. He now owns a good stock
farm, and is not only engaged in the raising of stock but also in the produc-
tion of hay. He bought one of the first Polled Angus cattle introduced here,
and later secured some fine Jersey stock. Pie now is the possessor of a
splendid bull of the Roan-Durham breed, and that stock will now have pref-
erence upon his farm. Mr. Osborn has also a number of choice fruit trees
which he has planted, and upon his place he raises nearly everything needed
for home consumption. The house is a pleasant and substantial farm resi-
dence sheltered by trees of his own planting, and there he and his wife enjoy
many of life's comforts. They are good Christian people, spending the even-
ing of their honorable lives surrounded by many comforts that go to mak<*
life worth living.
Mr. Osborn has always been a stanch Republican, and was nominated
and elected by the party in 1892 to the responsible office of county commis-
sioner. After his term of two years expired he was re-elected in 1894 for
four years, proving how capably he had served his fellow townsmen and how
promptly and efficientl) he had discharged the duties of his position. He is a
man of sin mg business sense, and this quality characterized his official service.
He put forth his best efforts to reduce the indebtedness of the county and at
the same time to advance its interests in every possible way. and his services
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 35
were most commendable and received the hearty endorsement of his fellow
citizens. His life has ever been honorable and upright, and Thurston county
owes him much for what he has done in its behalf, his labors resulting great 1\
to the benefit of the community.
MRS. MARY M. KNIGHT.
Woman seems to have reached her political ideal in several of the states
of the extreme west. In these robust young commonwealths that have
sprung up along the slopes of the Rocky mountains the people are as fresh
and free as the air they breathe, and the very atmosphere seems hostile to
anything like discrimination between classes or on account of sex, nationality
or religion. In some of the older states of the east the medieval notion still
lingers that woman is an inferior sort of creature, not able to govern herself
much less a body of people in organized form. Not so in the boundless
expanse of the great northwest. There woman is accorded all her rights,
political and business as well as social and civil. In these newly formed
commonwealths at least, there are no hard or hateful lines drawn on account
of race, color or previous condition of servitude. In several of these states
woman has been accorded full rights of suffrage, and hence it is no unusual
sight to see them filling all sorts of offices as well as assisting to make the
laws as members of legislatures. For this reason no one is surprised when
he drops into Shelton and sees a woman acting as superintendent of county
schools. And should he be an easterner who still retains the idea that
women are unfit for such places, he will certainly be convinced to the con-
trary if he inspects the schools and sees how well Mrs. Knight has discharged
the duties of superintending them. He will find that no man could have done
better and but few as well, and will doubtless return home with a decided
acquisition of new impressions on the woman question after contact with the
progressive people of the coast states. The truth is that women have a
natural aptitude for everything relating to the government of children, and
while, as every one admits, they make ideal teachers, they are equally success-
ful as principals and superintendents.
Mrs. Mary M. Knight, whose brilliant record in educational work at
Shelton suggested the foregoing remarks, is descended from Scotch ancestors
who came to the United States at an early period. Fler grandfather married
a Stark, related to that famous old Revolutionary general who declared on
the eve of a historic engagement : "Either I will defeat the British or Molly
Stark sleeps a widow to-morrow night." Eventually representatives of the
family found their way west and effected a settlement in the southern part
of Michigan.
Mrs. Knight, who was born in Ingham county of that state. September
2, 1854, was the eldest of the five children of C. S. Dunbar, and his only
daughter. She was educated in the high school at Eaton Rapids, Michigan,
imbibed a desire to teach at an early age. and studied with a view to qualify-
ing herself for that exalted calling. Her career as an educator, begun when
she was sixteen years old. has continued uninterruptedly until the present
time, and has embraced work in three different states. After going through
30 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
her apprenticeship by teaching a few terms in Michigan, she had an oppor-
tunity to exercise her talents on a wider field, as the result of her family's
removal to Dakota. Obtaining a position in the city schools at Huron, she
taught there with marked success for a number of years, and would probably
have remained but for the fact that her father and brothers changed location
to the state of Washington. Desiring to be near her relatives and especially
the parents as they approached old age, Mrs. Knight joined them in 1890.
She immediately began work in the Shelton city schools, where she taught
most acceptably' for "four years, and later was engaged for five years in the
schools at Whatcom, where her success was equally pronounced. The educa-
tional work of Mrs. Knight, especially her skill as a disciplinarian, had at-
tracted so much attention by 1900 that the Democrats nominated her their
candidate for county superintendent of schools. At the ensuing election she
was chosen by the people for that responsible office, and shortly afterward
entered upon the discharge of her duties. Having made a life study of the
subject of education, and being thoroughly familiar with the art of teaching
as the result of long and varied experience, Mrs. Knight's equipment for
such an office as county superintendent is exceptional. It goes without the
saying, therefore, that she has made an excellent official in all respects, and
had an opportunity to display that enthusiasm for school work which has
been the ruling passion of her life.
As like seeks like in the matrimonial as well as the natural world, Miss
Dunbar found her affinity in Marcus F. Knight, who, like herself, was a pro-
fessional teacher and filled with enthusiasm for his work. Mr. Knight was
born at Hamlin, Michigan, and attended the high school at Eaton Rapids,
where the Dunbar children were his schoolmates. His boyish affection for
Miss Mary ripened into love at maturity, and culminated in their marriage
June 29. 1876. Similarity of tastes and employment, aside from the endear-
ing recollections arising from their early association at school, combined to
make their union as eminently fitting in its beginning as it has remained ideal
in its continuance. Mr. Knight has taught with success at various places in
different states, and for two years was principal of the city schools at Shelton.
Their household is brightened by the presence of two daughters, whose names
are Jessie and Gyneth, and the family circle is one of the happiest imaginable.
Mrs. Knight's father, though somewhat advanced in years, is still living at
Shelton, as is also her brother, C. V. Dunbar, the prominent druggist of the
same city whose biography appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs.
Knight, 'like all sensible people, are fond of the comforts of life as well as
those things which contribute to the finer tastes, so we find their home at
Shelton surrounded by a small acreage devoted to a variety of fruits in-
digenous to that section. Prudent housewifery also supplies the domestic
table with honey, poultry and eggs of their own raising, and thus it will be
seen that the Knight home is a" typical American one in its comforts and
luxuries as well as its robust self-dependence. It is natural that such a
household should attract many visitors and that such occupants should make
many friends, and both propositions are found on inquiry to be true in the
case'of the estimable couple so largely responsible for the educational interests
of Shelton.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 37
S. A. PHILLIPS.
The old pioneers, even of the newest countries, are fast passing away,
and soon only their names and the memory of their brave deeds will be left
as a blessed heritage to the less hardy descendants, who reap the golden
results but not the hardships and toil of those who went before them. A
half century is not a long period in the general history of the world, but fifty
years ago the present state of Washington existed' only as the great oak
lives in the little acorn; and of the men who were there to bring about this
wonderful growth only a few survive and witness the fruit of their early
toils. In this small number of sturdy pioneers may well be counted Mr.
S. A. Phillips, who still retains the old donation claim which he took from
the government fifty years ago, located three miles south of the city of
Chehalis, Lewis county.
On both sides of the house the grandfathers of Mr. Phillips were partici-
pants in the struggles of the Revolutionary war. Edward Phillips, his
father, came to Monroe county, Michigan, in 1835, and was one of the
pioneer settlers of Oakland county of that state. He died in Macomb
county, Michigan, in 1849, aged seventy-seven years.
Mr. S. A. Phillips and his brother James T. are the only survivors of
the family, and both reside in Lewis county. S. A. Phillips was born in
Cayuga county, New York, November 1, 1830, came with his father to
Michigan, and when twenty-one years of age left his home in that state,
took passage in a steamer and by way of the Isthmus arrived in San Fran-
cisco in 1852. From there he came to Olympia, near which place he took a
donation claim and built a little home. During the Indian war of 1855-56
this house and all his moveable property and crops were destroyed by the
Indians. He enlisted and did active service in the campaign against the
redskins until the close, furnishing his own horse and equipment ; he was
never reimbursed for his losses or his services until by a recent act of Con-
gress he was allowed a pension of eight dollars a month, which he will soon
begin to receive. He settled on his present ranch in Lewis county in 1858.
During the first years of his residence here he was compelled to go to Port-
land and Olympia for his supplies, fording all the rivers and undergoing all
the hardships incident to pioneer life, paying a dear price for his simple
frontier home. He was industrious, and by his diligence has made a fine
farm and on it has erected a nice residence. As time passed and he was
prospered he added to his land one hundred and sixty acres, so that he
owned four hundred and eighty acres.
In the same year that he took up his residence in Lewis county he was
united in marriage to Miss Jane Moore, who died in 1868. leaving two
children. The daughter is now Mrs. Adela Cregg and lives in Lewiston,
Idaho; Edward Phillips, the son. was born in 1859, married Margaret John-
son, a native of Scotland, and had two children, Elva and Nbrval. Mr.
Phillips has given his son one hundred and thirty acres of his estate. In
1870 he took for his second wife Miss May Jackson, whose father was one
of the oldest pioneers of this county, and it will be of interest to briefly sketi h
his life.
38 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
John R. Jackson was a native of England; he came" to this country and
emigrated to the state of Washington in 1844. He located in Lewis county,
and the prairie on which he settled took his name and has ever since been
known as Jackson's Prairie. In the primitive log house which he budt on
his claim was held the first court of justice in the county; he served as
probate judge of the county for many years, and was a successful farmer
and respected citizen. He died May 24, 1873, when seventy-three years of
age. His religious views were those of the Episcopalian church. His wife
crossed the plains in 1847 and was one of the brave pioneer women of the
country. She was a widow, Mrs. Koontz, and she married Mr. Jackson in
May, 1848, and her son, Barton Koontz, now lives on the old home. This
estimable lady passed away February 14, 1901, when ninety years old, and
she was the oldest woman pioneer of Lewis county at the time of her death.
There were six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, and the two daugh-
ters are still living: Louisa is now the wife of Joseph Weir, and May is
Mrs. Phillips.
Mr. S. A. Phillips is an honest, self-reliant man, has preferred to paddle
his own canoe throughout his life, has never joined any society or taken a
pledge; thinks liquor is a good thing in its proper place, has not hesitated to
drink when he wished, but has always known when was the right time to
stop; he has always based his moral conduct on the Golden Rule, although
he does not profess to have never fallen short in its practical application;
always punctual in the payment of his debts, he has gained a most enviable
reputation in the business world, and now in the seventieth year of his life
his past is one in which he may feel a justifiable pride, and his future is not
an object of fear.
REV. BJUG HARSTAD.
This prominent minister and educator of Parkland, Washington, is a
native of Norway, born near Christiansand in 1848, and was about thirteen
years old when his parents emigrated to this country, in 1861. The family
located in La Salle county, Illinois, on a farm, and this place was the scene
of his boyhood days. His parents were poor, and he was forced from a very
early age to earn his own living, but he was from the first consumed with a
thirst for knowledge and an ambition to become a minister. To accomplish
this purpose he entered the Lutheran college at Decorah, Iowa, where he
studied for six years, in the meantime supporting himself by farm work and
teaching. He graduated in 1871 and then went to St. Louis, where the next
three years were spent in the preparation for the ministry at the Concordia
Theological Seminary, and he completed the course in 1874.
The enthusiasm and earnestness which were his characteristics in this
earlier training were still more strikingly illustrated in his first real work.
He came out to what was then a raw frontier country, the Red River valley
of North Dakota, where he was a missionary preacher for the Norwegian
Lutheran synod. Almost no salary was attached to this labor, and he helped
support himself by taking up a claim and farming it in addition to his other
strenuous toil. He experienced all the hardships of pioneer life, but was of
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 39
such a nature that he enjoyed it, and his zeal was rewarded by the establish-
ment of churches throughout the Red River valley, a church and people that
have since become powerful in that section of the country. He remained
there until 1890, when he was chosen by the church to be president in charge
of the Pacific district of the Norwegian Lutheran synod, an office somewhat
similar to that of bishop in the Episcopal church; the district embraces
Washington, Oregon, California, those parts of Montana and Idaho which
are west of the grand divide, and Alaska. On coming here he established
himself in the beautiful suburb of Tacoma, Parkland, where he built a church.
In 1 89 1 he began the task of building a Norwegian college at Parkland.
The building was begun during the good times of the western part of the
country, but about the time the building was ready for dedication the panic
of 1893 was at its height, and only by the efforts of Rev. Harstad did the
undertaking succeed. The school was dedicated in 1894, and from then till
1899 Rev. Harstad traveled all over the district soliciting aid to pay off the
indebtedness, and in 1898 he even went to Alaska, where he remained a year,
building up the church, establishing missions, ordaining ministers and getting
contributions for the college. But the task was finally successfully completed.
The Pacific Lutheran Academy, as the school is known, has a beautiful
situation, and the building is a large four-story brick, erected at a cost of
between ninety and one hundred thousand dollars. The doors are open to
both sexes, and there are about one hundred and fifty pupils. Five courses
of instruction are offered, ranging from two to four years each, and every
department is in the hands of thoroughly competent instructors, so that a
brilliant future awaits the school. The principal is Professor N. J. Hong,
and Rev. Harstad is himself professor of religion, Norwegian and Greek,
and also teaches in the local parochial school. For several years he has been
the editor of the Pacific Herald, a semi-secular Norwegian weekly, published
at Parkland. He has given up his presidency of the district, preferring to
remain constantly at Parkland, where he is also the minister of the local
church. He has built a fine home here, has eight children, and conducts his
orchard and farm with the aid of his sons.
JOHN WILSON MOWELL.
The profession of medicine now numbers in its ranks some of the
most eminent men of the country, men of great force of character, who arc
devoting their lives to saving and promoting the life of mankind. And as
the standard of the profession rises, the class of men attracted to it becomes
higher. One of the prominent physicians and surgeons of Olympia, who has
not only made a splendid record as a medical practitioner but has also become
one of the leading business men of the city, is Dr. Mowell. The Vfowell
family comes of the sturdy Teutonic stock, and grandfather Nicholas Mowell
was born in Germany, spent fourteen years of his life in the German army,
and then emigrated to Indiana county, Pennsylvania, where lie was a suc-
cessful agriculturist and where he resided until his death in the eighty-sixth
year of his life.
His son, George W. Mowell, was born in Indiana county on March 26,
I" HISTORY OF THE PI GET SOUND COUNTRY.
1836, remained on his father's farm until he became of age, at the beginning
of the Civil war offered his services as musician, and acted for some time in
this capacity and also was engaged in the recruiting office part of the time,
continuing in the service to the end. Before entering the service he married
Elizabeth B. Smith, also of German ancestry and a native of Shamokin,
Northumberland o unty, Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1866 they removed
enton county, Missouri, and settled upon the farm where they have ever
since made their home. -Mr. Mowell is an active citizen of his county and
held van. ms offices, being one -1 the commissioners of the county. In
religious belief the) were Lutherans, but, there being no church of that
denomination near them, they joined the Baptist church and have been de-
voted and useful members in that organization.
John Wilson Mowell is the only member of the above family residing
m Washington. His birth occurred in Davidsville, Pennsylvania, on the
5th of March, [861, and he was accordingly only live years of age when his
tits brought him to the state of Missouri, lie received his education in
Warrensburg, Missouri, at the State Normal School. He taught school for
live terms and studied medicine in the Missouri Medical College at St. Louis,
where he graduated in [888. lie served his novitiate as medical practitioner
in his native state for three years, and then in [891 arrived in Olympia. At
first he experi ome rather hard times, but he soon became acquainted
and has built up a large practice, and not only stands in the front rank of the
local physicians, but has made a reputation as a good, progressive business
man. He is a director, stockholder and vice president in the Olympia National
Bank, and is a stockholder and director in the Puget Sound Sea Fruit Com-
pany; this company is engaged in the manufacture of clam chowder, thus
Utilizing the large number of clams to be found in the bay and furnishing
the town another useful industry. The Doctor is the official physician of
the Northern 1'acilic Railroad and of the Port Townsend and Southern
Kail 1
In [898 Mr. Mowell was married to Ada Sprague, who is a native of
blah- mes Erom a Puritan ancestor who came over in the Mayflower.
The Doctor is a membei oi Olympia Lodge No. [, F. & A. M. In politics
' lican. He is a prominenl member of the State Medical Society
and secretarj of the Count) Medical Society.
WARREN A. WORDEN.
Since tin- earl) days of the country's history the Worden family have
occupied a distinctive place, and b borne their part in the upbuilding
and development in the regions in which they have resided. They are of
Welsh and English ancestry, and tin progenitor of the family in this country
!-M. ned in Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, but gradually they be-
came scattered, a part locating in Fairfield county. Connecticut, and part in
Sarat inty, New York, and at the present time our subject has
numerous relatives living in Xew Haven and Fairfield countv. Connecticut.
Representatives of this old and honored family participated in the Revolu-
tionary war and in the other early struggles of this country.
/4— ^-<
THE REW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. LENOX AND
T1LDEN FOUNDATIONS
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 41
Warren T. Worden, the father of Warren A., was born in Galway,
Saratoga county, New York, but in his early age the family moved to
Auburn, that state, where he became a lawyer, reputed to be one of the best
in the state of New York in his day, and he enjoyed a large general practice.
His brother was a brother-in-law of William H. Seward, of Auburn, and
secretary of state. Air. Worden's death occurred in that city in 1891, at the
age of eighty-four years. The mother of our subject, who was born in
Saratoga county, New York, was a second cousin of her husband, and her
death occurred in Tacoma, Washington, to which city she had removed with
our subject.
Warren A. Worden was born in Auburn, New York, in 1847, and there
received his elementary education, which was later supplemented by a course
in Hobart College, of Geneva, in which he was a member of the class of
1869. He then made an extensive tour through Europe, visiting all of its
principal cities and countries, and returned to his home in 1869, where he
began the study of law in his father's office. He was admitted to the bar at
Syracuse in 1871, and on the 16th of Qctpber^ 1873, at Washington, was
admitted to practice in the supreme '■court' iff 'the' United States, upon motion
of Attorney General Williams during Grant's admifiistration, and who is now
mayor of Portland, Oregon. After successfully following the practice of his
chosen profession for a time in his native city, his health became impaired
and he accepted a consular position in Canada, under the Hayes administra-
tion, serving in different cities -in mat country niltil Cleveland's administra-
tion in 1885, after which he returned to Auburn to take charge of his father's
business, this continuing until the latter's death. The year 1891 witnessed
the arrival of Mr. Worden in Tacoma, Washington, where he has ever since
been numbered among the legal practitioners. He is an indefatigable and
earnest worker, and is proficient in every department of the law. He is also
serving as master in chancery for the United States circuit court, and referee
in bankruptcy for the United States district court.
The marriage of Mr. Worden was celebrated in 1871, in Auburn, New
York, when Miss Mary S. Carpenter became his wife. She, too, is a native
of that city, and she and her husband were schoolmates in their youth. They
have three daughters, Mrs. Clara W. Hall, Emily B. and Mary T. Mr.
Worden is a member of the Episcopal church.
BRADFORD L. HILL.
Bradford L. Hill, the leading Olympia druggist, is a descendant of a
New England family which came to this country two hundred and seventy-
five years ago, and have accordingly been among the makers of history of
this country. The original progenitor of the family in America was Reuben
Hill. Bradford, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Middlebury,
Addison county, Vermont, in 1805, and when seven years old was taken by
his parents to Genesee county, New York, where he grew to manhood and
learned the carpenter's trade and engaged in contracting and building. In
1836 he embarked his wife and three children in a "prairie schooner" and
drove across the country to Galena, Illinois; at that time it was thought that
42 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
this city would be the metropolis of Illinois. From here he removed to La-
porte, Indiana, but because of sickness in his family he took them to Waterloo,
Jefferson county, Wisconsin, settling there in 1842, on a farm nine miles
from the nearest neighbor; here he remained for nineteen years, engaged in
farming. His next move was to Dodge county, Minnesota, and in 1868 he
came to towa, where he built a grist mill at Lime Spring, Howard county.
His long and eventful life was ended in death in 1885, and his wife passed
away four years later, at the age of seventy-six; they had lived in conformity
with the teachings of the Universalist faith.
Henry Reuben Hill, the father of Bradford L., was born on his father's
farm in Wisconsin, January 2, 1843, and passed his early life in the labor of
the farm and in attendance of the country schools. At the age of eighteen
he enlisted in the army for service in the Civil war, but was removed by his
father. In the fall of [862, however, he enlisted in the First Regiment,
Minnesota Mounted Rangers, and served with Pope against the Indians in
Minnesota and Dakota; he was in all the battles of Sibley's campaigns and
received an honorable discharge in December, 1863. He then enlisted in
Company B, One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
and was on the picket line at .Memphis when General Forest made his attack
on August jo, 1864. He was discharged September 25, 1864, and in the
spring of the next year again enlisted, but was rejected on account of disa-
bility received in the service. Since the war he has engaged in farming,
painting, merchandising, and in the drug business for a number of years,
spending a large part of the time in Jewell, Washington and Republic coun-
ties, Kansas. In 1890 he came to Olympia, where he has been engaged in
painting and oystering, but is now retired from active pursuits. He is inde-
pendent in politics, but has great admiration for President Roosevelt. He is
a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and is past commander of his
post; he i- secretary of Olympia Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M., and has been a
Knight of Pythias lor the past twenty-two \ears. On December 12, 1867, he
was man led to Miss Amanda M. Loring, and a son and a daughter have
been born, the latter being now a successful teacher in the Tacoma public
schi k 1]
The smi. Bradford I.. Hill, claims Iowa as the state of his nativity, being
Dun there in the town of Lime Spring, on the 1 ith of September, 1868. He
was educated in the public schools and received his technical training in the
pharmacy department of the University of Kansas. He has been in the drug
business all his life, in Nebraska and other states. He came to Washington
in [890, and for eight years was clerk in the store of Sawyer & Filley, but
in [900 organized the 1'.. I.. Hill Drug Company, of which K. R. Brown was
thi , ent. Under his energetic and capable management the business has
increased until the firm takes front rank among the drug houses of the city.
The store is in tin- < entei of the business district and has a large stock of pure
drugs and all articles making up a first class establishment. The firm manu-
factures large qua! tii of baking powder and its own corn, headache and
similai Mi. Hill is a member of the Pharmacy Alumni Association
of the University of Kansas, In politics he is a Democrat, and belongs to
( llympia lodge X". 1. I. 0. O. !■'.. the Woodmen of the World, ami Olympia
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 43
lodge No. i, A. F. & A. M. He is in every way a representative business
man of Olympia and deserves especial mention in this volume.
DOUGLAS T. WINNE.
Douglas Thompson Winne, a practitioner at the bar of Whatcom, was
born in Waterloo, Iowa, October 6, 1869, and on both the paternal and ma-
ternal side comes of ancestry honorable and distinguished. His father, John
L. Winne, a native of New York, was descended from the second burgomaster
of New York. He was of English and Scotch descent, and early in the seven-
teenth century located at what was then Fort Orange, but is now Albany,
New York. The father of our subject became an extensive stock-raiser. Re-
moving to the west, he became the owner of large ranches in Iowa and
Nebraska, on which he herded many hundred head of cattle, doing a profitable
business. He died in 1877. His wife, Mrs. Clarissa J. Winne, was a native
of New York and bore the maiden name of Thompson. She was descended
from English ancestry who came to America in early colonial times, the family
being founded here in 1630, when representatives of the name located at
Salem, Massachusetts. Mrs. Winne numbers among her ancestors Count
Rumford, an American scientist of note; General De Witt Clinton, who was
governor of New York, and also Governor Bradford of Massachusetts and
Colonel Eben Francis Thompson, of that state. Mrs. Winne belongs to the
Daughters of the American Revolution, by virtue of the service which her
ancestors rendered the patriot army in the struggle for independence. She
was regarded as one of the best read women in Wisconsin during her residence
in that state, and she is now held in the highest regard in Whatcom, where
she is living with her son. Mrs. Winne has during the last fifteen years been
active in church and temperance work, has contributed various literary and
other articles to different magazines and newspapers for publication.
Douglas T. Winne acquired his early education in the public schools and
supplemented it by study in Lawrence University, of Wisconsin, where he
pursued the ancient classical course, and was graduated in 1892 with the
degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then took a post-graduate course in the same
institution and won the degree of Master of Arts. Desiring to make the prac-
tice of law his life work, he prepared for the profession as a student in the
law department of the University of Wisconsin, of which he is a graduate of
the class of 1894. Biographical mention of the Winne family m;i\ lie Hound
in the " Bench and Bar of Wisconsin," published in 1883; in the " History of
the University of Wisconsin"; and also in "The Men of Progress of Wis-
consin." While in law school our subject made a reply which became noted.
He was asked by the dean of the department how he would advise a client
on a given proposition of law, and, being unable to answer, said to the dean
that he would advise the client to consult a lawyer. This reply has been pub-
lished in frequent editions of the Annual of the University.
Leaving college Mr. Winne began the active practice of law in Appleton,
Wisconsin, where he remained until the fall of 1899, when he started west-
ward. He traveled for a number of months for the benefit of his mother's
health, and then settled in Whatcom, in June. 1900. where he opened his
office and has since built up a fine practice, which is rapidly increasing. He
44 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
now has a distinctively representative clientage, and his legal learning and
careful analysis of cases have made him a forceful member of the bar. He
has also been connected with some important industrial companies of What-
com, and has represented a number of corporations as attorney.
Mr. Winne belongs to the Congregational church, and socially is con-
nected with several secret societies. In politics an earnest Republican, he is
active in the ranks of the party, and while in Appleton, Wisconsin, he served
as city attorney in 1896, and during '98 and '99 was attorney for the Chicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company. He attended different state con-
ventions there, and was also delegate from Wisconsin to national conventions
of his party. He does not seek office as a reward for party fealty, content to
do his duly without this recognition of his service.
WILLIAM COLUMBUS COX.
During the years which marked the period of the professional career of
Dr. Cox. he has met with gratifying success, and, though his connection with
the medical fraternity here dates back for only a comparatively brief period,
he has won the patronage of many of the leading citizens and families of
Everett. 1 te als< 1 has the good will of the public. A close and discriminating
student, he endeavors to keep abreast with the times in everything relating
to discoveries in the medical science, being a reader of the leading journals
devoted to the discussion of the " ills to which flesh is heir" and the treat-
ment thereof. Progressive in his ideas and favoring modern methods as a
whole, he vet does not dispense with the true and tried systems which have
stood the test of years.
Dr. t ox was bom on the 20th of September, 1858, in Flint Branch,
.Mitchell county, North Carolina, and is the eldest son and second child of
Samuel W. ami Cynthia (Blalock) Cox. The father was born in North
Carolina of an old American family of English and German lineage. He was
a fanner b) 06 upation, and in the year 1873 left the Atlantic coast to find a
home upon the Pacific seaboard, lie made his way to Walla Walla, Washing-
ton, and after twenty years spent in this section of the country died in Janu-
ary. [893, at the age of sixty six years. I lis wife was also a native of North
I 1 ! na mkI belonged to a family that was early established in the new
world. She. too. was of English and German descent, and she was a sister
of Dr. N. G. Blalock, who has been for many years a distinguished physician
of the northwest, was graduated in the Jefferson Medical College at Phila-
delphia. Pennsylvania, in the class of 1861, and for thirty years has been a
medical practitionei of Walla Walla, prominent in his profession and having
a very large patronage, which was accorded him in reward of his marked capa-
bility. I lie mothei 1 1 our subject passed away while the family was still living
in North Carolina, her death occurring in [867, when she was only twenty-
nin< 1 age. Four daughters and two sons were born of her marriage:
Addie. who is now the wife of (leorge Rasmus, a resident of Walla Walla;
William C; Huldah, who 1, the wife of S. S. Parris, who is living near
Athena. 1 Iregon; Nelson D., who makes his home at Prosser. Washington;
Ura, who is the wife of 1 >r. J. I'. Trice, of Nfez Perce, Idaho; and Victa, who
is the wife of Thomas Yoe, of Davton, Washington.
/ /
'Ox
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. LENOX AND
T1LDEN FOUNDATIONS
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. ^
William Columbus Cox was a youth of fifteen when he accompanied his
father to Walla Walla in 1873. He there continued his education in the pub-
lic schools, pursuing his studies until nineteen years of age. He afterward
worked upon his uncle's farm until 1882, and in the fall of the same year,
having determined to devote his life to professional work, he matriculated in
the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, from which he was graduated on
the completion of a thorough course, on the 2d of April, 1885, winning the
degree of M. D. Well equipped for his chosen profession, he then returned
to Walla Walla, where he took up the practice of medicine in connection with
his uncle, the distinguished Dr. Blalock. This relation was maintained until
April, 1886, at which time Dr. Cox removed to Genesee, Idaho, where he
remained in the active practice of medicine for five years. On the 6th of July,
189 1, he came to Everett, where he again opened an office and where he has
continued in practice up to the present time, covering a period of twelve years.
His knowledge of the science of medicine is comprehensive and exact, and in
his application of his learning to the needs .of suffering humanity he displayed
marked skill, his labors being attended with a high degree of success. Owing
to this he has secured a large patronage, .and' thereby has a good annual in-
come. He is now serving as local surgeon for the Great Northern Railroad
Company, for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company and the Everett Rail-
way & Electric Company. ' .
Prominent and influential, Dr. Cox has been elected to various positions
of public trust. In 1S90 he was chosen mayor of Genesee, Idaho, serving for
one year, and in 1894 he was elected councilman of Everett, but when he had
filled that position for four months he resigned. In 1895 he was nominated
and elected mayor of Everett, and served through the succeeding year. In
1900 he was a member of the state board of medical examiners, and has acted
in that position up to the present time, being at this writing, in 1903, the vice-
president of that body. His political support has ever been given to the
Democracy, and in positions of public trust he has been found most loyal to
his duty and the trust reposed in him.
Dr. Cox has been twice married. On the 4th of March, 1888, he wedded
Miss Grace Jain, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of Louis and Adelia
Jain, of Genesee, Idaho. She died on the 10th of October, 1891, after a
happy married life of a little more than three years. On the 1st of November,
1894, the Doctor was again married, his second union being with Hattie G.
McFarland, a native of Maine and a daughter of Captain R. and Georgia B.
McFarland, of Everett. Fraternally Dr. Cox is connected with the Masons
and the Knights of Pythias. He also belongs to the Improved Order of Red
Men, the Benevolent' and Protective Order of Elks and the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. He also holds membership with various organizatii ms
tending to promote medical knowledge and the efficiency of practitioners. I fe
is now the president of the Snohomish County Medical Society, and belongs
to the Washington State Medical Society, the American Medical Association,
the International Association of Railway Surgeons and the American Academy
of Railway Surgeons. Professionally and socially Dr. Cox is prominent, stand-
ing to-day as one of the leading and representative men of Everett. His
unfailing courtesy, genial nature and ready sympathy have gained him many
t6 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
friends among those whom he has met outside of professional duties. He is
also ver popular with his patients, and in a profession where promotion de-
pends upon merit he has gained a position of distinction.
HARRY G. ROWLAND.
Harry G. Rowland makes his home in Puyallup, but engages in the prac-
tice of law in Tacoma, where he has gained distinction as an active, forceful
and learned member of the bar. A native of Pennsylvania, his birth occurred
in Potter county in 1865, his parents being the Rev. Henry and Harriet
1 Knapp) Rowland. His father was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal
church. He was a prominent and honored resident of Tioga county, Penn-
sylvania, and at one time served as the treasurer of that county. He is now
deceased, but his widow still survives and is now living with her son, Dix H.
Rowland, in Tacoma. She is a lineal descendant of Halsey Kelly, who was
a soldier of the Revolutionary war.
Harry G. Rowland was provided with good educational privileges.
\fler obtaining his preliminarv education in the public schools of Wellsboro,
Pennsylvania, he entered Allegheny College at Meadville, Pennsylvania, and
Ir.mi thence he entered the Syracuse University at Syracuse, New York, where
he was graduated with the class of 1888. During his college course and for
some time thereafter he was engaged in newspaper work on the Syracuse
Journal. Returning to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, he took up the study of law
in tin- office and under the direction of the firm of Elliott & Watrous. The
1101 partner, Mortimer F. Elliott, is a very distinguished lawyer, now
. rving a- chief counsel of the Standard Oil Company in New York city,
l arly in the year [890 Mr. Rowland was admitted to the bar in the court of
common pleas al Wellsboro, and immediately after followed the advice of
Horace Greeley and came to the west. This rapidly developing country
seemed to him to offer a splendid field of labor, and he resolved to seek his
fortune on the Pacific coast. <h\ reaching Puget Sound he located at Puy-
allup in Tierce county, about nine miles from Tacoma. He is a member of
the Washington supreme court and of the United States district and circuit
court, lie has won distinction in his profession because of his broad legal
'. Lining, his analytical mind and his careful preparation of cases. He has
(•.•nil,] for himself distinction as a lawyer of broad learning and one who
is mo<i careful in the presentation of his cases before judge or jury. Thus he
has gained a distinctively representative clientage that has connected him
with much of the important litigation tried in the courts of his district. He
is also a direi tor of the Citizens' State Rank of Puyallup. In February, 1903,
in 1 in with his brother. I)i\ II. Rowland, he opened a law office on
tin- third Hour of the I idelitj building in Tacoma in order to meet the en-
larged demands of their practice. The other brother of the family is the
Rev. Frank S. Rowland, pastor of the Asbury Methodist Episcopal church,
one of tin- leading churches in Buffalo, New York.
(hi the _'7th of June. iX<)<). Mr. Rowland was united in marriage, in
l.i.i ma, t" Mi^- \nneiie E. Clark, a daughter of Dr. 1). C. Clark. At the
time of her marriage and previous thereto she was a teacher of English history
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 47
and literature in the Tacoma high school. Mr. and Mrs. Rowland now have
one son, De Witt Clark. In his political views Mr. Rowland is a stalwart
Republican, and in 1896 was nominated on the ticket of that party for the
office of prosecuting attorney of Pierce county. That, however, was a Popu-
list year in this section of the county, and the entire Republican ticket was
defeated, but Mr. Rowland, nevertheless, ran from three to four hundred
votes ahead of his ticket. He has been three times elected city attorney of
Puyallup.
DR. ALEXANDER DE SOTO.
Dr. Alexander DeSoto, of Seattle, Washington, is a native of the Caro-
line Islands, the date of his birth being July 28, 1840. His father, Fernando
DeSoto. was born in 1793, on the DeSoto estate near Barcelona, and was in
diplomatic service all his life until he was past eighty years of age, when he
retired. He was governor of the Caroline Islands and also was lieutenant
governor of Puerto Rico. Dr. DeSoto's mother was Hedwig Leonora
DeSoto. She was of Austrian birth, a member of the old Hoffman family,
and died in 1862.
Alexander DeSoto in his early life had excellent educational advantages.
In the University of Spain, at Madrid, he received the degree of M. D. ; at
Heidelberg, Germany, the degree of LL. D., and he concluded his regular
course of studies in Upsala, Sweden, in 1870. Then for two years be was
demonstrator of surgery in Upsala. In 1862 he came to this country, to
Washington, D. C, as a member of the Spanish legation, for the purpose of
studying American naval tactics. He returned to Spain in 1868 and was
one of the leaders in the Carlist movement, and it was during that time that
he was compelled to leave and go to Sweden. He was in France a short
time, and in 1872 returned to America. After remaining here a short time
he went to South America, and for about two years practiced medicine and
engaged in mining in Argentine Republic. Chili and Peru. He went to Bos-
ton in 1875, where he had previously established a home, and while maintain-
ing that as his headquarters he took trips all over the world, and was in the
Chilean war as an army surgeon, 1879-80. In 1880 he went to London, Eng-
land, and after a short stay there returned to this country and located in New
York city, where he remained for a number of years.
During the year 1867 Dr. DeSoto "rounded the Horn'" in the schooner
Albatrose, and came to Seattle, when the Queen City's industrial interests
were measured by the output from a single sawmill. He returned to Seattle
in 1897, and, as people were returning from Alaska in a sick and destitute
condition, he saw the need of a free hospital and established the present Way-
side Mission Hospital. He is spending his spare time and his money in
lightening the burdens of the sick poor. During the past six years he has
cared for no less than nine thousand people in this hospital. In addition to
his present charities he proposes to build at the foot of Jackson street, in
Seattle, a Wayside Hospital, at a cost of eighty thousand dollars, and this
structure is now in course of construction. He will also build in Seattle a
free American Medical College, on which it is the intention to commence
active work next year.
48 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Dr. DeSoto is largely interested in mining and railroad enterprises,
which lie personally manages, and in which he has been very successful. He
is operating the Wayside gold mine at Granite Falls, and this mine he has
dedicated to charity, to the building of colleges and hospitals. This mine,
estimated, will produce millions, and is said to be one of the most mar-
velous in tin- country in that it carries values in something comparatively new
in mining- telluride of copper. He owns the controlling interest in the
Philadelphia Crude Ore Company on Unalaska Island, across from Dutch
Harbor. Thjs is said to be the largest sulphur deposit known. Also he
own- the controlling interest in and is president of the Alaska Iron Com-
pany, owning properties which have fifty million tons of iron in sight, near
Haynes Mission, ju^t over the boundary line in British Columbia. He is
vice presidenl and general manager of the DeSoto Placer Mining Company,
which owns much valuable mining property in Council City, Alaska, in one
place bavin- forty-five million cubic yards of pay gravel, averaging three
dollars per yard. It is said to be the largest in the world. They own twelve
miles on (lie Xeucluck river. Alaska; thirty-seven claims on Ophir creek, one
of (lie richest creeks in Alaska; twenty-seven claims on Warm creek, which
runs parallel to Ophir creek. On the first of last June the DeSoto Placer
Mining Company took to Alaska the largest dredgers and steam shovels in
oiid. in all, two hundred and seventy thousand dollars worth of ma-
chinery and supplies; seventy-four men accompanied the machinery and the
expedition has proved a great success.
Dr. DeSoto has organized the Everett & Snohomish Rapid Transit Com-
pany, and after constructing the road between Everett and Snohomish, a
distance of eight miles, will build seventy-six miles leading into Seattle. The
er will he supplied from the Sultan river falls. The Doctor is president
of the Behring Sea & Council City Railway, which will run from Nome to
Council City, a distance of eighty miles. The surveys were completed last
year, and the construction will be commenced this year, five years being re-
quired to complete it. The cost of the road will be two million eight hundred
thousand dollars, and it will tap a country rich in various resources. Dr.
DeSoto is the owner of the DeSoto Transportation Companv, owning and
operating the river steamer Aurum and barges between Golovin Bay and
I ouncil City, a distance of sixty miles. All these enterprises above named
« on.d attention. 1 lis broad enterprise, his public spirit
and his great work along charity lines place Dr. DeSoto among the leading
men of the northv
HENRY C. DAVIS.
I he I h been for half a century intimately connected with
th and pi of Lewis county, il^ members have filled many
''I th. pul county and state, and they may now be found in
'"on, walks of life not only bringing credit to themselves hut reflecting
1 "I""1 their community. If ancestry counts for anything in the success
of men, the mingling of the Welsh and German stocks in this family is cer-
tainlv an excellenl hei itai
*S6. (Lt&^^L^
W YORK
labile LlBRARvl
ASTOR. LENOX AND
jTlJ.DENFOUNOATr0Nsl
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 49
The oldest member of the family who was connected with the history of
this state was Lewis H. Davis, the father of Henry C. He was born in
Windsor county, Vermont, in 1794, and while in the east he married Susan
Clinger, a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Of this marriage two daugh-
ters and five sons were born, who are now identified with the interests of
the state of Washington. With this family Mr. Davis crossed the plains to
Oregon in 185 1, six months being consumed in the journey which now takes
less than a week. They remained one year in Portland, Oregon, which was
then but a village in the midst of the forest. They next came into Lewis
county and settled at a place called Drew's Mill, near Cowlitz. But Mr.
Davis, not liking the location, went to Olympia, where he found no suitable
place, and then returned to where Chehalis now stands, where he met a Mr.
Sanders, who informed him of a spot which would probably suit him. They
set out on an Indian trail and reached a beautiful little prairie, shut in by
strips of green woodland and with the white peaks "of three mountains tower-
ing aloft, Mount Takhoma (Mount Rainier ). .Mount Adams and Mount
Hood; here the charm of the scene ;ahd -the fertility of the soil induced Mr.
Davis to locate, and he entered three hundred and twenty acres, while his
eldest son, Levi Adrian Davis, took an adjoining half section. After erect-
ing a sawmill and later a grist mill he proposed to the county to build and
donate the courthouse if the county seat should be established in this locality.
This proposition was accepted, and the courthouse was constructed at the
cost of one thousand dollars. Upon one corner of the lot was placed a tall,
supple flag-staff, the largest ever raised in the state, the upper section of
which was arranged to be lowered at need, and the subject of this sketch
and his sist( r Caroline still recall the fact that they solicited donations with
which to buy a flag. Here Mr. Davis laid out the town of Claquato, built a
cozy church and school and constructed many miles of road leading through
the forests to the town, now called Centralia, formerly called Kookum-
chuch, and south to where the town of Napavine stands. In every way
he sought to make it the center of trade and to develop a city of importance
in the state. But some time after, when the Columbia and Puget Sound
road was built, the courthouse was removed to Chehalis, and the place for
which he had worked so hard was deserted, and now only the delightful
home of our subject marks the spot, surrounded by the trees which the old
pioneers planted, and the little church is also standing as a monument to the
zeal and enterprise of its builder.
Mr. Davis had been a captain in the war of 18 12 and in the Black Hawk
war, and when the Indian war of 1855-56 threatened he was foremost in
building a fort for protection : it was constructed one hundred feet square,
and on the palisade of closely set posts were placed cone-shaped structures
from which the sides of the fort could be raked by the guns. One night Mr.
Davis and one of his sons were sent to Olympia to secure ammunition, and
they made the trip safely. He used his influence in keeping the settlers in
the fort during the war and in inspiring them with confidence, and he was
thus an important factor in the war. By order of Governor Stevens he also
conducted a block-house at Centralia. General McLetlan, Governor Slovens.
Halleck, Sheridan, Grant, and all the young military officers often stopped
50 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
and enjoyed Mr. Davis' generous hospitality, and he was much esteemed for
his integrity and bravery. He continued to operate his mill until his death,
and he passed away in the seventieth year of his life, in 1864; his wife died
in her seventy-second year. Before detailing the life of the immediate sub-
ject of this sketch a short account of the other children would be interesting.
The eldest son. Levi Adrian, and his brothers, were engaged in milling
and ran a stage from Olympia to Monticello. He assisted his father in all
his pioneer enterprises and shared in much of the credit due to those under-
takings. He resided in Claquato until 1888 and afterward for some years at
Cora, near Mount Tacoma; he conducted the postoffice there and named the
town in honor of his niece, Cora Ferguson. On March 8, 1854, he married
Mary Jane King and they had four sons and two daughters. He died Octo-
ber 1, 1 90 1, aged sixty years, and, like his father, was one of the esteemed
men of the state. He had been elected to the state legislature and was a
member of the Republican national convention which met at Indianapolis and
nominated Benjamin Harrison for the presidency. He was also county com-
missioner for several terms.
The daughter, Melinda Browning, has also passed away. The second
son, Austin Davis, was a farmer and was connected with his father in the
pioneer work, being the first postmaster of Claquato and filling the office of
treasurer of the county; he died June 16. 1892, in his fifty-fifth year, and be
left a wife, three sons and a daughter. The third son, who was named
William Henry Harrison Davis because of bis father's admiration for Gen-
eral Harrison, was a farmer and died May 6, 1901. The daughter, Caro-
line E., became tin- wife of Javen Hall. The youngest son, Luther Tower
Davis, was bom at Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1848, crossed the plains when
threi years old and was reared and educated in Lewis county; he is married
and has one child and resides in South Tacoma.
Henry C. Davis, who is the son of Lewis H. Davis, was born at Fort
Wayne, Indiana, Jul) iJ. 1815. and was only five years old when his parents
made their long trip across the plains. He was educated in the public schools
of Lewis county, and the scenes of pioneer life made a vivid impression upon
his young mind. When old enough to work he assisted in the farm work,
and after his father's death followed various occupations until 1878, when
he removed to Tacoma and engaged in (lie drug business in partnership with
Dr. H. C. Bostwick. They suffered severe losses by fire, being burned out
three times, and Mr. Davis then quit the business. He built the first three-
story brick block in Tacoma, and he still owns this property, which pays him
handsome profits in rent. lie was elected treasurer of Tacoma and served
for three wars. In 1888 he returned to his farm at Claquato. For many
years Mr. Davis has been interested in the anthracite coal mines at the head
waters of the Cowlitz river, where are situated the purest veins of anthracite
coal in the state or in the west, and this is destined to develop into a very
valuable property. Mr. Davis donated five acres of land at Claquato to the
tndepi Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery. This land was Worth one
hundt ed di 'liars per ...
In [889 Mi'. Davis was married to Miss [,1a Scott, a native of the state
"i Pennsylvania; Mrs. Caroline Scott Harrison, the wife of President Harri-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 51
son, was her father's cousin. Two children were born to them on the old
homestead at Claquato, Ethel Lillian and Donald Jerome. Mr. and Mrs.
Davis are members of the Presbyterian church and very deservedly rank
among the foremost citizens of the county, where Mr. Davis has been reared
and has spent his entire life in the active prosecution of many private and
public enterprises.
JAMES KNOX.
On the list of federal officers in the state of Washington appears the
name of James Knox, who is now serving as United States shipping commis-
sioner for the Puget Sound district. The country would be fortunate if all
of its public offices were filled by men of such known ability, patriotism and
practical business sense. All three qualities are essential to the officer of
worth, and in none of these is Mr. Knox lacking.
A native of Peoria, Illinois, he was born April 2, 1855, and is a son of
James and Elizabeth (Johnston) Knox, both of whom were natives of New
York. The father went to Illinois in 1835, locating in the town of Knox
in Knox county. That name was bestowed in honor of his uncle, Hon. James
Knox, who was at one time a member of Congress from Illinois in the early
clays. The maternal grandfather and grandmother of our subject were born
in Ireland and Mr. Knox's father was also of Irish descent. The father was
a successful man, who prospered in his undertakings and left to his family
a moderate estate. He died before the birth of our subject, and the mother
is still living and now makes her home in San Jose, California.
James Knox obtained his education in Knox College at Galesburg,
Illinois, and in Racine College, of Wisconsin. When he had finished his
school life he engaged in the stock business in Knox county, where he re-
mained for a year and a half. He was then married to Miss Bessie Fuller,
of New- London, Connecticut, and the young couple started for the west.
They located in Eldorado, Butler county, Kansas, where Mr. Knox became
extensively engaged in dealing in fine stock. He was the first man to intro-
duce pedigreed Durham cattle and Poland China hogs into that county, and
in his operations he was very successful. After a four years' residence in
Eldorado, however, he came to the Puget Sound country in 1879. locating
in Puyallup, Pierce county. At that time the development of the trans-
continental railroad had just begun at this end of the land, and Mr. Knox's
first enterprise was to secure the contract for supplying meats for the railroad
contractors and their men. He was engaged in this business on a large scale,
and from that time until 1895 was extensively interested in live-stock and
irrigation and other development enterprises of this section of the state. He
also served as mayor of the town of Puyallup. and his public service and pri-
vate endeavors proved of much benefit to the place in which he made his home.
In 1895 Mr. Knox removed to Tacoma, where he became connected with
the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company as an outside man. For three
years he occupied that position, and in 1899 received the appointment of
United States shipping commissioner under the treasury department for the
Puget Sound district. His jurisdiction extends over the shipping ports of
Puget Sound and Gray's harbor, and he has a deputy stationed at each port.
5l< HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
The duties of this office are of a responsible and complex nature. That Mr.
Knox has been expert in his work and is thoroughly familiar with the many
important details of the position goes to show how quickly the average western
man adapts himself to different occupations and duties.
When Mr. Knox has been interested in political affairs and a factor in
political circles he has always met with the same success as has attended him
in his business ventures. In the senatorial contest of 1899 his labors were
largely effective in bringing about the election of Addison G. Foster, vice
president of the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company, with which our sub-
ject has been connected. He is a large man of almost limitless energy, is
liberal, broad-minded and of a free and easy disposition. He has a nice
home in Tacoma at 1902 South J street. To him and his wife have been
born four children: James 'Ward, Elizabeth Miller, Jane Anne and Sara E.
Mr. Knox is an excellent type of an American citizen. Manliness, pa-
triotism, sincerity and friendship are instinctively associated with his name.
The common testimony of him is that he is a man of remarkable sagacity, a
quality in the human mind that we can scarcely overestimate, in business and
in many relations of life. Washington has profited by his efforts in her
behalf. and in public office he is now proving a capable and reliable official.
ARTHUR J. WEISBACH.
During the revolutions and political disturbances in Germany in 1848,
when the conditions imposed upon the private citizen were almost intoler-
able and freedom of conscience seemed almost impossible, thousands of
native Germans left their fatherland and sought relief in other lands, princi-
pally America. These emigrants consisted of the very flower of the popula-
tion, and were men of sturdy character and noble purposes, entirely free from
the taint which adheres to a later class of emigrants, and were destined to
amalgamate and form one of the very best parts of American citizenship.
One of these was Jacob Weisbach, who, on his arrival in this country,
came to what was then an almost wild and unknown country, eastern
Kansas. lie became a merchant in Marysville, and obtained his goods by
means of tin- old freighl and express conveyances of the clay. He was very
prosperous and became prominent not only in his own community but in the
-talc at large, being a member of the legislature and the incumbent of other
important positions. During the Indian outbreaks of the sixties he joined
a home company, anil thus had experience as a frontier soldier. He re-
mained in Marysville for a number of years, but in 1881 he determined to
keep on the advancing wave of civilization by going to the extreme west.
Tacoma was then onlj a small village and almost unheard of in the outer
world, but Mr. Weisbach. after disposing of his interests in Kansas, estab-
lished a mercantile business here, and repeated his former success. He soon
tool a prominenl part in the affairs of the city, was elected a member of
iIm' 1 itv council and in iSS^ was made mayor. In November of that year he
was chairman of tin- committee of fifteen which was organized to cope with
the Chinese riots and exclude these undesirables from the city. Mr. Weis-
bach's splendid executive ability in that crisis is a lasting record in the history
of the city, and is still spoken of by the "old-timers." But in 1887 he retired
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 53
from his long and active career, and two years later he died, leaving behind
a beautiful memorial of a useful and honorable public and private life.
Of the different members of Hon. Jacob Weisbach's family, mention
should be made of Professor Robert Weisbach, a foremost musician of Ta-
coma, and of his sister, Mrs. O. J. H. Swift, wife of the Deputy United States
Shipping Commissioner at Tacoma.
The remaining child is Captain Arthur J. Weisbach, who was born in
Marysville, Kansas, in 1867. He received his education in his native place,
and in St. Joseph, Missouri, where he lived for about ten years of his youth.
He was an independent lad and never relied on his father's success for help,
but made his way by his own efforts. When he was twenty years old he
decided to come out to the country where his father had located, and arrived
here in the spring of 1887. He was engaged in various occupations until
1897, when he secured a position as clerk in the land department of the North-
ern Pacific Railway at Tacoma, and in March, 1901, was promoted to his
present responsible position, that of chief clerk of the department. He took
an active interest in the organization of the Washington militia, and is now
the captain of Company A, First Infantry, of the Washington National
Guard. He is also a very popular man in both business and social circles.
SAMUEL C. SLAUGHTER.
Samuel C. Slaughter, who is engaged in the real estate business in
Tacoma, was born in Culpeper county, Virginia, in 1848, and comes of an
ancestry honorable and distinguished in the south. His parents were Dr.
Philip C. and Mary (McDowell) Slaughter, the latter of Scotch ancestry.
The paternal ancestry was represented by valiant soldiers in the Revolution-
ary war. Dr. Philip C. Slaughter was born in Virginia and there spent his
entire life, his death occurring in Culpeper county. His family was a very
old one in that region, and was of Welsh origin, the progenitors of the
Slaughters in America having taken up their abode in the Old Dominion in
1620. Dr. Slaughter served as a surgeon in the Confederate army in the
Civil war, and was made chief surgeon at Camp Lee during the presidency of
Jefferson Davis. His cousin, General James E. Slaughter, was a classmate
of Genera! Grant at West Point and was in command of the Confederate
forces on the Rio Grande river in the Civil war. General H. G. Wright of
the Sixth Army Corps was a relative of Dr. Slaughter, as was also General
Bradford, while General McDowell, prominent at the battle of Bull Run, and
( ieneral Ord were relatives of Mrs. Slaughter, the mother of our subject.
In taking up the personal history of Samuel C. Slaughter we present to
our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in
Tacoma. He was reared in Culpeper county and there obtained his educa-
tion. After attaining his majority he went to New York city, where he
entered business life, and remained for more than fifteen years as a member
of the well known banking firm of Norton, Slaughter & Company, which did
business at 41 Broad street. For the past twenty years Mr. Slaughter has
been a prominent resident of Tacoma, and has here engaged in real estate
operations. Since coming to Washington in 1882 he has been one of the
5J HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
most progressive and enterprising citizens of this portion of the state, closely
identified with its development, upbuilding and material progress. He is
now one oi the few remaining pioneer real estate men of the state of Wash-
ington. What is now known as the central addition to Tacoma, bounded by
South Ninth, K and M streets, and Sixth avenue, was at the time of his arrival
Mth the forest trees of gigantic growth which sheltered the Indians
ere the advent of the white men into this section of the country. Now this
district is covered with some of the handsome homes of civilization. One
of the first lots that Mr. Slaughter sold at that early date is situated on Pacific
avenue at the corner of Eleventh street, known as the Pincus & Packsher
■ rty, and is now one of the most prominent business corners in Tacoma.
It was sold to Colonel Harbine, of Nebraska, the father-in-law of Judge
Snell, for twelve thousand live hundred dollars, and upon it is located the
Fie National Bank. This property was recently purchased by Miles C.
Moore, of Walla Walla, for one hundred thousand dollars. After the finan-
cial depression of [883-4-5 local realty was again very low, and Mr. Slaughter
recalls that another lot on Pacific avenue was sold by Dr. H. C. Bostwick to
Dickson Brothers as a location for their clothing store for the sum of six
and dollars. Many now well known landmarks passed through Mr.
Slaughter's hands in those days, and few real estate agents of the city have
handled so much property or negotiated so many important realty transfers,
lie is still in the business under the firm name of S. C. Slaughter & Com-
pany, at [09 South Ninth street, where he is always ready to welcome his
own friends and customers, lie has as firm faith in the future of the city as
he always had, and his belief in Tacoma has been well founded, for its ad-
vancement has been marked and its growth continuous.
Mr. Slaughter was united in marriage in San Francisco, in 1889, to
Miss Julia C. Widgery, and for a number of years she has been a most
prominent factor in social circles and in public interests in Tacoma and the
thwest. She was born iii Essex, Devonshire, England, the daughter of
a well known artist. She represented Washington as a member of the board
of lady managers of the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893.
She also organized and was the president of the Washington State Co-opera-
tive : the purpose of which is to encourage the patronage of home
industries, and was the means of doing a great deal of good in that respect.
She is now a member of the board of trustees of the Ferry Museum, Ta-
coma's most notable public institution, and is the only woman on that board.
Both Mi. and Mrs. Slaughter enjoy the high respect and warm friendship of
the mosl prominent pe pl< ol racoma and this section of the state, and are
rded as valued additions to the social functions here held. That Mr.
Slaughter is personally popular and enjoys the high regard of his fellow-
townsmen is indicated by the fact that he was elected by popular suffrage in
\|nil. [892, to the position of city comptroller, and was the only successful
Democral on the ticket. Public spirited and progressive, since coming to
the northwest he has co operated in ev< r) measure for the general good, and
his influence and labors have been a marked factor in the improvement and
the city.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 55
ALBERT H. KUHN.
Mr. Kuhn is the superintendent of the Hoquiam Lumber ami Shingle
Company, and the history of his family connections and of his business career
will form an interesting chapter in the annals of Puget Sound. His father
was Henry Kuhn, a native of Switzerland, and of French and German
origin. At the age of fourteen he left home, and after living in France for
a time came to the United States, finally taking up his permanent residence
in Wisconsin. He was a prosperous farmer of that state till his death, which
occurred at his home near Oshkosh in 1900. After he had come to Wis-
consin, Henry Kuhn married Soloma Wellauer, who was also of German
ancestry and a native of Switzerland, coming to this country when a young
lady. She was a sister of Jacob Wellauer, of Milwaukee, a wealthy and
prominent citizen of that place, and at one time owner of nearly one-half the
land of the city. Mrs. Kuhn died at Oshkosh in 1902.
Albert H. Kuhn was born at Waukesha, Wisconsin, in i860, but when
an infant was taken by his parents to a farm near Oshkosh, where he grew
to manhood and received a good education. After finishing at the State
Normal School at Oshkosh he taught for a year at Dale. In the meantime he
had learned telegraphy, and when his school year was over he went to Chicago
and secured a position as operator with the Western Union. He was next
a railroad operator and was appointed agent at Fridley, Minnesota, for the
St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad, afterward the Great Northern.
In 1881 he became agent for the Northern Pacific at Medora. Dakota, and
was there during the trouble between the Marquis de Mores and the cattle
men, being the chief witness for the state in the murder trial of the Marquis.
Roosevelt was there on his ranch during the summer.
In 1883 Mr. Kuhn came to the Pacific coast, and made one trip from
San Francisco to Australia as a sailor, but in 1884 he came to Hoquiam,
Washington, where he has made his home ever since. He became engaged
in lumbering, and for eighteen years was foreman of the logging and all
outside work of the Northwestern Lumber Company. He was an interested
party in the formation of the Hoquiam Lumber and Shingle Company, and
early in 1902 he designed and built for that company a shingle mill which is
pronounced by experts to be the finest mill of the kind in the northwest, as it
cuts more and better shingles and more cheaply than any other mill in this
region. Mr. Kuhn is superintendent of this plant, and is now engaged in
building for the same company a large lumber mill which he will also operate.
These interests now form Mr. Kuhn's principal business.
In 1900 Mr. Kuhn was married to Mrs. Ida Soule Howes, of Hoquiam.
Mrs. Kuhn organized and is regent of the Robert Gray Chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution, and is a member of the Society of
Mayflower descendants. From these connections it will be inferred that
Mrs. Kuhn has a line of famous ancestors, and the following paragraphs will
be devoted to them.
This branch of the Soule family traces its authenticated ancestry with-
out a single break through Constant South worth back to Childric, King of the
Franks, born in 458. The line comes down through Charlemagne; his de-
scendant, Louis IV. of France called "D'Outremer" ; his descendant, Robert
50 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
de Bellomont, who was associated with William the Conqueror in the in-
vasion of England, and was created the first Earl of Leicester. He was de-
fended on Ins mother's side from Alfred the Great of England. There were
many succeeding Earls of Leicester in the Bellomont name whose wives were
of the ducal houses of Pembroke, Hertford, Gloucester, Winchester, Norfolk,
March, Salisbury, etc. The line then comes down through females to Lady
[sabell de Dutton, who married Sir Christopher Southworth, of Salmesbury,
in 1465. From them was descended Constant Southworth, whose grand-
daughter Men hworth married Moses Soule, grandson of George Soule,
a passenger on the Mayflower, and thirty-fifth signer of the famous "Com-
pact.'- Mercy Southworth was also a great-granddaughter of John Alden
and Priscilla Mullens. Seven of the Southworth ancestors were signers of
the Magna Charta, four were among the founders of the Order of the Garter,
and one, William Marshal, third Earl of Pembroke, was Lord Protector of
the Realm during the minority of King Henry III. of England. Another
ancestor, Ralph de Stanley, second Baron Stafford, had a principal command
al Cressy.
Barnabas Soule, grandson of Moses and Mercy, founded the Soule ship-
yards at Freeport, Maine, one of the oldest in the country and in active opera-
tion up to a few years ago, twelve of the Soule ships being now in commis-
sion on the Pacific coast. Nearly all the descendants of Barnabas have been
engaged either in shipbuilding or in seafaring life. His son Thomas was
captain of their privateer Fairplay in the war of 1812, and was captured by
the British and confined in Dartmoor prison. Joseph, the son of Thomas
Soule, was horn in Freeport, Maine, and was descended, through his mother,
Sallie Follansbee, from David and Daniel Currier, of Amesbury, Massa-
chusetts, father and son, who were patriots in the Revolutionary war. Joseph
Soule continued in the shipbuilding business for many years. He made a
trip to ( alifornia in one of the family ships in 1852, and a few years later
moved from Maine to Illinois, where he engaged extensively in the manu-
facturing of Farm machinery, which he continued until 1879, when he located
in < alifornia. In 1885 he removed with his family to Hoquiam on Gray's
Harbor, but again returned to the east and died in New York in 1900. His
I) all reside in 1 loquiam.
Joseph Soule married Miss Frances Fensley, now living at Hoquiam,
who is a line, intellectual and well preserved woman. She is a direct de-
scendanl of General Schuyler 0,1" Revolutionary fame; of John Folsom of
mouth, Xew Hampshire, another patriot and an ancestor also of Mrs.
Grove: l li /eland, and, on her mother's side, from Sir Robbie Murray of
Stirling, Scotland, and Timothy Pickering, Washington's secretary of state.
In the collateral branches of the Soule family are some interesting char-
acters, among them I" despotic Rev. John Wheelwright, brother of
Mrs. \nne Hutchinson, and the founder during his enforced exile from
colon) of Wells, Maine, and Essex, Xew Hampshire; the Rev.
(he saintrj founder of I oncord, Massachusetts; Major Robert
Pike, the famous lawyer and Indian lighter, who saved many an old woman
. and who was one of the founders of
Salisbury, Massachusetts; and the above mentioned Constant Southworth,
n of Governor Bradford, who came to the country in 1628. During
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 57
his long life he held many important offices in Plymouth colony, being deputy
governor for twenty-two years, treasurer for sixteen years and commissary
general during King Philip's war.
Mrs. Kuhn is one of the children of Joseph and Frances Soule, the others
being John Fensley Soule, secretary of the Northwestern Lumber Company ;
Mrs. Sarah Soule McMillan, Captain Thomas Soule and Mrs. Josiah Onslow
Stearns, all of Hoquiam.
ZACHARY T. WILSON.
James Harvey Wilson was a native of Ohio, and by occupation was a
farmer and also a railroad contractor. About 1874 he removed with his
family to northwestern Missouri, locating near St. Joseph, where he died in
1875. He married Henrietta Melick, who has survived him and resides in
Dekalb county, Missouri.
Before this worth)' couple had left their home at Lancaster, Ohio, their
son Zachary T. was born to them, in 1850. A part of his boyhood was spent
on a farm, where he grew up strong and vigorous. He was large for his age,
and, taking advantage of this fact, during the last year of the Civil war, he
tried three times to enlist, and would have succeeded in spite of his age, had
his father not taken him out. But the soldier instinct was so strong in him,
that, failing to gain permission to enlist in the regular army, he joined the
artillery branch of the Ohio Home Guards, and had charge of a gun at
Camp Chase for three months. While in performance of duties connected
with this position he yielded to one of the powerful impulses of boys and
chipped his name on the gun, which will remain as a lasting memorial of
his "soldiering," since this now antiquated piece of artillery is preserved on
the grounds of the state arsenal at Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Wilson afterward
finished his education at Union Academy at Fairfield. Ohio, where he was
graduated in 1870.
On leaving home he became an employe of a large grain firm at Win-
chester, Ohio. He later taught school in Fairfield county, and when he re-
moved with the family to Missouri he became principal of a school in thai
section. But in 188 1 he gave up school teaching" and set out for the territory
of Washington. For the following ten years he was in the mercantile busi-
ness at Walla Walla, and then came to the Gray's Harbor district, locating
first at the town of Gray's Harbor, which, however, was a place of mushroom
growth and soon withered out of existence. In 1892 he established his resi-
dence at Hoquiam, where he has remained ever since. For the six years
following his location here he was connected with the E. K. Wood Lumber
Company, a part of which time he had charge of their general store. Since
leaving the lumber company he has been employed in various capacities, gen-
erally as a bookkeeper, until December, 1901. when he was elected city clerk
of Hoquiam, and was re-elected a year later. Besides attending to the faith-
ful discharge of the duties of this office, he conducts a real estate business and
is meeting with increasing success.
Mr. Wilson has four children by his two marriages. His first wife was
Helen Perry, to whom he was married at St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1878; she
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
was a native of northwestern Pennsylvania and was a member of the Commo-
dore Perry branch of the family of that name. The three children of this
union are Fannie M., Chester A. and Agnes. Mr. Wilson's present wife is
Beatrice (Hamilton) Wilson, to whom he was married at Hoquiam. They
have a son by the name of Winfkld D. Mr. Wilson is a firm believer in
Republican principles and policies, and it was on the ticket of that party that
he was elected to his present position.
MARK H. DRAHAM.
The above named gentleman, who occupies a very prominent position in
connection with the lumber interests of Washington, has been engaged in
this line of business all his life. From earliest boyhood he has been familiar
with the sights and scenes of logging camps, the stubborn oxen pulling their
lumber loads, the resounding blows of the ax, the busy whirr of the saw, the
shouts and oaths of the drivers, the loud explosions that shake the earth
when some monarch of the forest topples to the earth with a tremendous
crash. He understands this vast industry in every detail, from the first
stroke of the ax or saw at the base of the tree to the business of financing a
great corporation with an enormous capital to manufacture and handle
lumber on a vast scale. It has been his fortune to be engaged in this busi-
ness in many states and in widely different sections of the Union, from the
upper Atlantic coast to the magnificent forests that border on Puget Sound.
Mr. Draham first smelled the odors of pine in the woods of Maine, but his
ancestors, who were of Irish origin, had previously settled in Massachusetts.
Lawrence Draham, who was born in the last mentioned state, was a
man of bold spirit and adventurous disposition. He joined the "forty-
niners" in the middle of the century and went to California in the wild rush
for gold. Ten vears later he joined the Union army and served with courage
and fidelity until the close of hostilities. This veteran, now no more, was
married in early manhood to Alary I'lunkct and had a family of eleven chil-
dren, of whom eighl are living, and three are residents of Washington. Mrs.
Dell Roger-, one of the daughters, resides at Omaha.
Mark 11. Draham, one of the sons who came to Washington, was born
in Maine in 1S5S, and remained there until early manhood. At the age of
Fourteen he was compelled to make his own living, and the stimulus of
poverty, connected with energy and industry, enabled him in a comparatively
short period to rise several rungs on the ladder of success. With his boyish
experience- in the pineries of Maine as practically his only capital he came
to Washington in (877, and soon he became active in the lumber industry of
that -tate. Locating at Shelton, he took stock in the Mason County Logging
1 ompany, hut later disposed of this interest for the purpose of organizing the
company with which he has since been so conspicuously identified. This or-
ganization, known as the Western Washington Logging Company, is one
of the most important of its kind iii the state. It controls nearly all the
timbered lands along the line of the Shelton & Southwestern Railway, a dis-
tance oi over iwent\ miles, owns live thousand acres of timber, employs
litv men, and their annual output is over twenty live million feet of lumber.
tITFnewTorF i
ASTOR LBNOX AND
lI.DENPor,NDArrONSl
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 50
All the logs are shipped to the bay and towed to the different mills on the
Sound. Mr. Draham is president of the company, and his brother, G. \Y.
Draham, is the secretary, while W. H. Kneeland, the vice president and treas-
urer, is also owner of the railroad above mentioned. The officials and
owners are all men of fine business ability and high standing in financial cir-
cles and thoroughly experienced concerning everything connected with lum-
ber industry. This is especially true of Dr. Draham himself, whose life-long
training, united with broad business views, makes him a very valuable man
for the company of which he is the executive head.
Mr. Draham's social relations are in keeping with his business qualifica-
tions and make him, both as man and citizen, one of the favorites among
the people with whom he has cast his lot. He accepted election to the Shelton
city council for the purpose of being able to push forward improvements and
bring about repairs that would make the capital of Mason county one of the
model towns of the Puget Sound country. In 1890 Mr. Draham was mar-
ried to Miss Margaret Marshall, a lady of Canadian birth and English an-
cestry, by whom he has a daughter named Margery'. Mr. Draham acts politi-
cally with the Republican party, and holds fraternal relations with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen.
HON. CHARLES E. COON.
Hon. Charles E. Coon, president of the Port Townsend Mercantile Com-
pany, mayor and president of the Chamber of Commerce of Port Townsend,
was born at Friendship, Allegany county, New York, in 1842, and is a son
of Arthur A. and Emeline (Evarts) Coon, the latter of whom was a grand-
daughter of Brigadier General Gideon Brownson, commander of a brigade
of "Green Mountain Boys" in the Revolutionary war. Hon. William M.
Evarts belonged to the same family. The maternal ancestry is English,
while the paternal is Scotch.
Charles E. Coon, whose services as a statesman have distinguished him,
received only a common school education. On April 24, 1861, at the age of
eighteen years, he enlisted in the Twenty-third New York Volunteer Infantry,
serving in the Army of the Potomac until 1863, when he became chief clerk
and deputy provost marshal of the Twenty-seventh Congressional district
(his own) in New York. In 1864, on coming out of the army, he was given
a position in the office of the United States treasurer, at Washington, and
from thence, for a long number of years, his life was a story of promotions
and success in the government service, until he became assistant secretary of
the treasury, under President Arthur. He served in different capacities in
the treasurer's office and was finally transferred to the office of the secretary.
In 1871 Mr. Coon was selected as one of the staff of Hon. William A.
Richardson, assistant secretary of the treasury, on a mission the purpose of
which was to refund the United States bonded debt. He was engaged in
this work almost continuously for ten years, making ten trips back and forth
between the two countries. At first he was assistant funding agent, but later
became agent in charge. It has been computed that, during all this time,
the money and securities passing through his hands amounted to one thousand
million dollars.
60 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Mr. Coon was in the office of the secretary of the treasury when Secretary
John Sherman brought about the resumption of specie payments. By Mr.
Sherman's direction he prepared an exhaustive report to Congress, which
was published under the title of "Refunding and Resumption of Specie Pay-
ments." The last notable service performed by Mr. Coon was at the outset
of the Garfield administration, when a disturbance of the balance of trade
was threatened by the return from abroad of a large amount of United States
bonds, about to fall due. He proffered his services to Secretary Windom
and expressed the opinion that he could exchange these bonds in Europe for
long-term bonds bearing a lower rate of interest. He was given authority
to show what he could do in this line, and accordingly he went to London,
with one clerk, mainly at his own expense, and through his acquaintance with
financiers over there, both in England and on the continent, succeeded in
refunding seventy-five million dollars of these bond-holdings into four per
cenl. bonds. The saving in interest was enormous, and Congress reimbursed
him for all expenses incurred.
In April, 1884, Mr. Coon was selected by President Arthur to be assist-
ant secretary of the treasury, and he was immediately confirmed by the senate,
a promotion that was very gratifying to Mr. Coon, as a suitable recognition
of his abilities and long service. After Charles J. Folger's death, and until
his successor was appointed, he was designated as acting secretary. When
the Cleveland administration took hold in 1885, Mr. Coon, although a Repub-
lican, was requested to remain, and served under President Cleveland foi
nine months, when he resigned. His continuous service in the treasury de-
partment lasted from Salmon P. Chase, in 1864, to Daniel Manning, in 1885.
lie was widely known as an authority on matters in connection with fiscal
operations of the government, and the newspapers in those days made con-
stant use of him as a source of information and as an authority on govern-
ment finance. Although a strong Republican, it should be stated that Colonel
(nun wuii bis promotions solely on merit, and on account of his hard work,
knowledge and ability. Alter coming out of the treasury department, in
[888, be was nominated for Congress from the tenth congressional district
of New York, which was hopelessly Democratic. Although defeated by
General Daniel P. Sickles, Mr. Coon ran one thousand votes ahead of Benja-
min Harrison, the presidential candidate.
Mr. Coon continued to live in New York until 1895, when he came on
a visit to bis niece at Tacoma, and was so favorably impressed with the Puget
Sound country that he decided to remain here and go into business. In 1897
he located permanently at Port Townsendj establishing the Port Townsend
Mercantile Company, of which lie is president. This is a wholesale and retail
grocery and ship supply house, and does a large business. He is president
ol the Chamber of Commerce of Port Townsend. having been re-elected to
that position four times. In December, 1901, be was elected mayor, and in
I (ecember, 1902, he was again elected, for another year, receiving all the
\i ites cast.
Mr. Coon was one of the first members of the Grand Army of the Re-
public when it was organized at Washington, and was a member of Burnside
I 'list in that city until 1901, when be transferred his membership to the Port
Townsend post, lie also belongs to the Society of the Army of the Potomac
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 61
and to the Union Soldiers' Alliance, is a prominent Mason and is a member
of the Masonic Veterans' Association of Washington city. His member-
ship is also a prominent and valued one in local Elk circles and in the Society
of the Sons of the Revolution, in New York city. He is locally known as
Colonel Coon.
WILLIAM A. FAIRWEATHER.
When the present site of the city of Tacoma was largely covered with
forest trees that stood in their primeval strength, William A. Fairweather
made his way to this section of the country, and through the intervening years
he has watched with interest the progress and development here, and has
contributed in no small degree to the growth and improvement of this section
of the state. He is now serving as deputy collector of United States customs
in charge of the port of Tacoma, and all who are at all familiar with his life
know that in the discharge of his duties he will ever prove faithful, prompt
and reliable.
Mr. Fairweather was born at St. John, New Brunswick, in 1853, a son
of Peter and Elizabeth Fairweather. The father belonged to an old New
Brunswick family of Scotch descent and was born in Essex county, New
York, where the family was residing at that time. Later, however, the
parents returned to New Brunswick, where Peter Fairweather spent his re-
maining days. H. W. Fairweather, a brother of our subject, is a prominent
citizen of Spokane, where for a number of years he has been engaged in the
banking business. He came to the northwest in 1871 as a representative of
railroad interests, and was finally made auditor and general freight and pas-
senger agent of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company at Portland,
filling that position until he resigned in order to engage in banking east of
the mountains.
William A. Fairweather spent the first sixteen years of his life in his
parents' home, and then left New Brunswick, going to Nashua, New Hamp
shire, in order to finish his education. On putting aside his text-books he
became connected with the Underbill Edge Tool Company of Nashua, and
was thus employed for a number of years. In 1873, however, he left the old
Granite state and came to the Pacific coast by way of the Isthmus of Panama.
Eventually he arrived at San Francisco and there he took passage on the
old steamer John L. Stevens bound for Portland. On reaching his destina-
tion he entered the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, which
had just completed its line from Portland north to Tacoma. For a time he
was located at Kalama, but in 1875 he came to Tacoma. becoming one of the
first settlers here. The future city was yet in its infancy and gave little
promise of speedy development or rapid growth. Where are now seen line
business blocks stood forest trees, and the most far-sighted could scarcely
have dreamed of the marvelous changes which were soon to occur. Mr.
Fairweather remained at Tacoma for about four years, and in 1879 crossed
the Cascade mountains and established the first store in the new (own of
Ainsworth on the Snake river. Subsequently he engaged in general mer-
chandising at Sprague, and, thus connected with different business enter-
prises, his absence from Tacoma covered ten years. In [886 lie served as
mayor of Sprague and was elected to other local offices in that place.
62 " HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
On returning to Tacoma Mr. Fairweather became an active factor in
business and political circles here. He was elected on the Republican ticket
to the office of clerk of Pierce county for a term of two years, and in May,
1899, lie was appointed deputy collector of customs for the Puget Sound
district in charge of the port of Tacoma. This is an important office, for
the import business at Tacoma has already assumed vast proportions and
the work requires the services of a number of collectors and inspectors, who
discharge their duties under the guidance of Mr. Fairweather. He has the
business of the office well in hand, and is prompt and faithful in the execu-
tion of every duty which devolves upon him.
In [88] was celebrated the marriage of William A. Fairweather and
Miss Annie Myers, the wedding taking place in Oregon City, Oregon. The
lady is a daughter of the Hon. John Myers, who was a member of the
Oregon legislature for twelve years and served as United States marshal
under President Cleveland's administration. The home of Mr. and Mrs.
Fairweather has been blessed with four children: Eva, Allen M., John and
Frances. They reside at 31 10 North Twenty-fourth street. Mr. Fair-
weather is a prominent Mason and for five years served as master of the
e at Sprague. He is a past grand master of the state of Washington
and also a past grand priest of the Royal Arch chapter of the state. His
knowledge of Masonry is broad and comprehensive, and his life has been in
harmony with the teachings and the benevolent spirit of the craft. In politics
he has also been long and deeply interested, and he takes an active and ef-
fective part in promoting the growth and welfare of the Republican party.
' lc has served as chairman of campaign committees, and his labors have been
so directed as to produce good results. As a pioneer settler of the northwest
Mr. Fairweather certainly deserves representation in this volume, and, more-
over, be is entitled to honorable mention because of his activity in business
affairs, his patriotic devotion to the principles in which he believes, and his
earnest efforts for the welfare and progress of Tacoma and the state of
Washington.
ARTHUR NEEDHAM.
In all heavily wooded countries where lumbering is an important in-
dustry there is a class of men known as cruisers, who are factors of moment.
The business of the cruiser, or estimator, is to go through the forests, care-
fully inspect the growing timber and be able to report as to the quantity as
well as quality, the amount growing on a specified area of acres and other
information to be used by purchasers. It takes a man of long experience
and natural ability to do this work with the accuracy required, while it is of
the utmost importance to those intending to buy large quantities of timber
that they should be able to form some estimate of what it is worth. One of
these experts can tell at a glance all about a tree — its probable age. its sound-
ness or unsoundness, the particular botanical group to which it belongs, its
it and si/e. and everything else that a man about to buy would be de-
irou of knowing before purchasing, Thus the work of these experts
; regular business, or perhaps profession would be a better name
lor it, as it requires educated skill of a high order. This subject is men-
tioned here because Mr. Needham, of whom this biography treats, was once
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 03
in this business of "spying" out the forests and reporting to his employers
as to their timber supply. He was formerly in the employment of the cor-
poration now known as the Peninsular Railroad Company, and after five
years' service he was made superintendent of building and operating. Sub-
sequent to this he was engaged to do the work which has been sufficiently
described above.
Arthur Needham is of English nativity, his birth having occurred at
Sheffield, February 5, 1859. In 1868, when he was nine years old, the boy
was brought to America and placed in charge of friends at Saginaw, Michi-
gan, to be educated. He grew to manhood in this city, and, as it was the
center of a large lumbering industry, his attention was naturally turned in
that direction as he grew toward manhood. When, in 1883, he removed to
Washington he found himself in another lumber state with enormous capital
and scores of thousands of men employed in the various branches of the
business. Mr. Needham, as stated, became connected with the industry, and
was regarded as an expert in his line. He received good wages, and being
careful with his money soon had capital sufficient to go into the mercantile
business. He opened his store in 1894, and was the pioneer haberdasher of
Shelton. He is also the only one in this line of business at the county seat,
and enjoys a thriving trade, supplying the surrounding country with hats,
caps, shoes and all kinds of gents' furnishing goods. Adjoining his general
store he keeps an establishment devoted to millinery, which is in charge of
his wife. As Mr. and Mrs. Needham are attentive to business, honorable in
their methods and courteous to customers, they have built up an excellent
business, while acquiring along with it many friends and well wishers.
In 1888 Mr. Needham married Miss Ida Day, by whom he has five chil-
dren: Arthur N.. Ida M., Maurice H., Elva Rovena and Earl. Mr. Need-
ham is fond of the sociabilities and material benefit which comes from joining
the fraternities, and holds membership in a number of the most prominent
secret societies. He belongs to the Odd Fellows, Maccabees. Eagles, Yeo-
men, Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
With his family he lives in a comfortable home at Shelton and enjoys general
respect as a good neighbor, a good citizen and an enterprising business man.
CYRUS VADER DUNBAR.
Cyrus V. Dunbar is the pioneer druggist of Shelton. He arrived in
this city in 1888, when it was a village of but few inhabitants, and in De-
cember of the same year he opened his drug store, in which he has since kept
pace with the needs of the town and has met with gratifying success in his
chosen vocation. A native of the state of Michigan, he was born at Eaton
Rapids, Eaton county, on the 15th of June. 1856, and is of Scotch descent,
but his ancestors have resided in America since an early day. His father,
Charles S. Dunbar, was born in New York in 183 1, was there educated and
learned the blacksmith trade, and also engaged in the hotel business and
farming. He married Miss Orphia S. Norton, and seven children were born
of the union, of whom five are living on the Pacific coast: William H., an
expert accountant of Seattle; Hiram N., a blacksmith of Shelton; Mrs.
Knight, superintendent of the Mason county schools; and E. Prentis, who
Gi HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
is engaged in the paint and wall paper business in Bremerton, Washington.
Charles S. Dunbar loyally served in the Union army during the dark days of
the rebellion.
Cyrus V. Dunbar was educated in the schools of Eaton Rapids, Michi-
gan, and in his native city he also learned the drug business. Going to Port-
land, Oregon, in 1882, he was there engaged at his chosen vocation until
1888, when he came to Shelton and has since been recognized as the leading
druggist of the place. On Christmas day of 1877 Mr. Dunbar was happily
married to Miss Sarah Ann Laverock, a native of New York and of English
ancestry. One daughter has been born to brighten and bless the home of
our subject ami wife, Cecil Veva, and she is a graduate of the pharmacy de-
partment of the Michigan State University, at Ann Arbor. Mr. Dunbar
.- :ercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
Republican party, and has served with efficiency as a justice of the peace
and as town clerk. His fraternal relations connect him with the Ancient
Order of United Workmen and the Knights of Pythias, being a valued and
active worker in both orders. He is a great lover of music and plays the
1 ornet in the Shelton band, of which three of his brothers are also members.
Since coming to the Evergreen state Mr. Dunbar has achieved excellent suc-
cess, and is now numbered among the substantial citizens of Shelton.
THOMAS BORDEAUX.
In this age of marked enterprise and intellectual energy the prominent
and successful men are those whose abilities, persistence and courage lead
them into large undertakings, and wdio assume the responsibilities and labors
of leaders in their respective vocations. Success is methodical and consecu-
tive, and however much we may indulge in fantastic theorizing as to its ele-
ments and causation in any isolated instance, yet in the light of sober in-
vestigation we will find it to be but a result of the determined application of
one's abilities and powers along the rigidly defined lines of labor. It has
certainly been in this way that Thomas Bordeaux has gained the position
which he now occupies in the business world, a position which makes him a
1 in industrial and commercial circles in his part of the state. He is the
president of the Mason County Logging Company and makes his home in
Shelton, from which place he directs his business, which has become the most
extensive in its line in this part of the state.
Mr. Bordeaux was born in Canada, just across the St. Lawrence river
from Montreal, on the toth of June, [852, and is of French ancestry. His
grandfather, Jerenne Bordeaux, was born in 1 "ranee and became a pioneer
settler of Canada, where Theofield Bordeaux, the father of our subject, was
born and reared. The early French settlers in the Dominion had to contend
with many difficulties and hardships, and often times had to face dangers
which demanded the utmost personal courage, for the Indians frequently
attacked the white nun. who had to defend themselves with pitchforks or
any weapons which they could procure. Theofield Bordeaux married Miss
I.ucile Ba mm iie. and the) became the parents of four sons, three of whom
n Washington, namely. Joseph, Gilberl and Thomas. The mother died,
THF IV TV YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND
T1LDEN FOUNDATIONS
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY 65
and the father has since married twice. He is now living in the seventy-
fifth year of his age.
Thomas Bordeaux had very little opportunity to acquire an education,
merely attending a French school until he had learned to read and write the
French language, but in the school of experience he has found the oppor-
tunity of broadening his knowledge and is now a well informed gentleman,
of strong mentality and keen discrimination. He came to the United States
in 1872, when he was in his twentieth year, and spent some time in prospect-
ing for gold in Montana, Idaho and eastern Washington, but without success,
and in 1885 he became connected with the lumber industry, beginning busi-
ness alone on a small scale, hauling logs with oxen and employing only eight
or ten men in his logging camp. He superintended the camp, the purchase
of the timber and his sales, and as time passed his business grew in extent
and importance until he became a recognized factor in the lumber business
and a leader in his line. He continued operations until 1890, when the
Mason County Logging Company was incorporated, and he has been its
president and manager continuously since.'' "'Tltis company has become one
of the foremost representatives of the''4ttmfer.!lH(&vs'try of Washington, and
owns much timber lands in Mason and other counties, while in its large
logging camps three hundred men are employed. In connection with the
business there is also operated a large shingle, mill in the Black Hills, in
Thurston county, in which two hundred and fifty thousand shingles are
manufactured daily. The company owns large togging engines, which haul
the logs from where the trees are felled to the log-ways, where they are
loaded on the cars, which carry them to the bay. and thence they are towed
in large rafts to the mills, where they are converted into lumber and timbers
of all lengths and dimensions. One of the largest logs hauled by them was
converted into twenty-two thousand feet of lumber, and this also indicates
the ability of the company to handle timber of any size, even that which
forms the great and wonderful forests of Washington. In addition to Mr.
Bordeaux the other officers of the company are his brother, Joseph Bordeaux,
who is the treasurer, while A. H. Anderson is the secretary and Fred Staben-
feldt is bookkeeper. All are men of marked business ability and interested
in other important enterprises, all of which contribute to the upbuilding and
prosperity of the city. The company owns over fifteen thousand acres of
timber lands, and logs amounting to two hundred and fifty thousand feet are
daily unloaded at the bay. The company also owns forty-five acres of tide
lands in Olympia harbor, of which six acres are in oyster beds, and their
products also return a very satisfactory income. Mr. Bordeaux is likewise
a stockholder in the State Bank of Shelton and also in the Lumber Mercan-
tile Company, which owns a store thirty by one hundred and forty feet, con-
taining a stock of merchandise valued at fifty thousand dollars, while an-
nually they handle goods to the value of two hundred thousand dollars.
In 1889 occurred the marriage of Mr. Bordeaux and Miss Mary Ritner.
and two children bless this union : Ray and Russell. Mrs. Bordeaux died
in 1898, and in 1900 our subject married Miss Essie Webb, a daughter of
Thomas Webb, one of Mason county's best known and most prominent
pioneers. They have a son, Theofield K. In his political views Mr. Bor-
66 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
deaux is a Republican, and belongs to Mount Moriah Lodge No. n, F. &
A. M., of Shelton, and to the commandery. He and his family have a very
attractive In -me in Shelton and are numbered among the leading people of
the city. To him there has come the attainment of a distinguished position
in connection with the great material industries of the state, and his efforts
have been so descerningly directed along well defined lines of labor that he
seems to have realized at any one point of progress the full measure of his
possibilities for accomplishment at that point. For years he has been an
important factor in the development of the natural resources of the state,
in the upbuilding and in the promotion of its enterprises, which add not
alone to his individual prosperity, but also advance the general welfare and
prosperity of the city in which he makes his home.
HENRY FAUBERT.
Henry Faubert is the popular and hospitable proprietor of Hotel Webb,
the leading hotel of Shelton, Washington. This building was erected in
[890, and is a three-story, frame structure, with sixty-six bedrooms, a mag-
nificent ladies' reception room and parlor, a large office, a commodious dining
room, and a kitchen tilled with the latest conveniences of the culinary art, and
a laundry; it is lighted throughout with electricity, and is, in short, just such
a hotel as the business man or the luxurious traveler would seek for the
enjoyment of all the conveniences of home life, and the genial landlord is
ever eager to provide for the comfort of his guests. A free bus is run to
and from the hotel, and it is the center for all the traveling men who visit
Shelton.
For the ancestry of Mr. Faubert we must look back to that fascinating
and early period concerned with the settlement of the pioneers of France in
the new world, and he springs from a French nobleman who resided in
1 anada thn e hundred years ago and whose descendants have ever since taken
pari in the development of that country. His father. Jacques Faubert, was
born in Canada and married Miss Josephine Daigneault, who was also of an
old French Canadian family. He died in his thirty- fourth year, leaving a
family of live children, but his wife, now in her seventy-eighth year, resides
in the old home ai \ alleyfield, Canada. The only members of the family in
Washington art- our subject and his brother Joseph, both in Shelton.
ry Faubert was born in Valleyfield, Canada, August 18, 1858. and
'us education in his native country up to his twelfth year, when he
to Glens Falls, New York, where he remained five years;' he then came
to Bodie, California, where he engaged in mining; in 1880 he was in
Montana, in the lumber business, and from Butte he made the trip on
horseb ; to Spol ine, Washington, thus having an excellent opportunity to
the country. Coming to Skagit, Washington, he was employed 111 a,
camp, but in [890 built a hotel at Hood's Canal; after conducting'
this i 1 he rented it and then became the proprietor of Hotel Webb,
which he has since managed with most gratifying success and in such a way
1 redil upon the town.
In [89] Mr. Faubert was united in marriage to Miss Virginia A. Bor-
l\ of French ancestry and a sister of Thomas, Joseph and Gilbert
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 67
Bordeaux, respected business men of Shelton. Five children have been born
to them, Stella, Corine, Edward Henry, Alice and Florentine. They reside
in a nice home a block from the hotel, and there they enjoy the company of
many friends. Mr. Faubert is a Royal Arch Mason and an Elk, in politics
is a Republican and is awake to the best interests of the town. He owns stock
in the Skookum Oyster Company, and has property both in and out of the
city, being everywhere rated as one of the prominent business men of
the state.
JEAN F. RILEY.
Honored and respected by all, there is no man in Shelton who occupies
a more enviable position in financial and commercial circles in this place than
does Jean F. Riley, the founder and cashier of the State Bank. His success
in all his undertakings has been so marked that his methods are of interest to
the commercial world. He has based his business principles and actions upon
strict adherence to the rules which govern industry, economy and unswerv-
ing integrity, and his enterprise and progressive spirit have brought him a
high degree of success and made him a valued citizen of his adopted county.
A native of the state of New York, lie was born in Orleans county, April
26, 1866, a son of James and Frances (Fleming) Riley, the former born in
the west of Ireland, the latter in the southern district' of the Emerald Isle.
They were married in Orleans count}-. New York, in 1855. and then took
up their abode in the state of Nebraska in 1879, after having lived for many
years in New York. In early life- the father learned the stonemason's trade,
and later gave his attention to farming, being an industrious, reliable man
of genuine worth. He departed this life in Nebraska, in 1886, and his
widow, still surviving him, now resides in Shelton with her son Jean, at the
age of seventy-four years.
Jean F. Riley is the only surviving member of a family of six children.
He pursued his education in New York and in Nebraska, attending the
public schools until appointed a naval cadet in 1883, but after two years of
study he put aside his text books to enter the business world, and joined his
brother, John D. Riley, who was engaged in the mortgage loan business in
Hastings, Nebraska. This was in 1887, and in 1890 the brother went to
Seattle, Washington, where Jean F. Riley joined him in 1893. There they
engaged in handling municipal bonds, Mr. Jean Riley going to New York
to superintend their business affairs in that city; but they foresaw the finan-
cial panic of 1893 and sold out. Removing to Shelton in that year they here
opened the State Bank in the month of April, and it soon became established
as a flourishing and reliable financial concern. A general banking business
has been carried on with ever increasing success, and among the patrons are
numbered the leading business concerns of this city and vicinity. In 1895
Mr. Riley organized the Lumberman's Mercantile Company, which entered
upon a prosperous career and is to-day controlling the leading mercantile
enterprise in the state outside of the large cities, the annual sales amounting
to over two hundred thousand dollars. Since leaving school Mr. Riley had
been associated in business with his brother, but the latter's health began to
fail, and, hoping to be benefited by travel, he visited Californin. Colorado and
68
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Mexico returning in June. 1898. The trip, however, did not accomplish the
S so much desired, and on the 5* of September following his return
home |ohn Riley passed away. He had hosts of friends and was veiy high y
esteemed both as a business man and citizen, so that his loss has been deeply
felt throughout the community as well as by his brother and mother.
lean F Riley is still continuing his connection with the banking and the
mercantile enterprises, both of which are leading business concerns of this
part of the state and owe their successful conduct in large measure to his
efforts Ins keen foresight and marked capability. In matters pertaining to
the welfare of the city he has also been potent, has served on the city; council,
lias acted as mayor and has effectively favored many measures which have
proved of marked benefit to Shelton. Socially he is connected with the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, the Elks, with the Woodmen of the World
and with the Knights of Maccabees. In these organizations as well as in
other walks of life he has gained many warm friends.
CHARLES H. WELLS, M. D.
!
In the extensive lumber industry about Puget Sound, with all the dan-
gers incident to logging, there is especial need of the skilled surgeon and
physician, who often comes like the angel of mercy to the hardy men who
pass their time in the depths of the forests deprived of the comforts which
alleviate to some degree the sufferings of more fortunate mortals. In the
camps about the city of Shelton in Mason county Dr. Wells is a familiar figure
to the lumbermen, and in the ten years that he has resided here he has taken
rank as the leading physician and surgeon of Shelton and the country
adjacent.
His father. William H. Wells, was a native of Ohio, and when the
country called for his services during the Civil war he enlisted in the Elev-
enth Illinois Cavalry and died of typhoid fever at Jefferson City, Missouri.
He had married Miss Jennie Webb, a native of Potsdam, New York, and,
like himself, of old English ancestry. She now resides in southern Michigan
at the age of sixty three, and her daughter is now Mrs. Gale of Toledo, Ohio.
The son born of this marriage was Charles II. Wells, and his birth oc-
curred in Pecatonica, Illinois, June 20, 1861. He received a good education
in the public schools and then studied medicine in the Michigan Medical Col-
1 ! (etroit, where he was graduated in 180,2; since this time he has taken
three posl graduate courses in New York, and keeps fully abreast of the times
isive reading and study. With his diploma as a guarantee of bis
preparation he began his practice in Detroit and Toledo, Ohio, but was for-
tunate in having the courage to seek a better field far from home, and in 1893
he came to Shelton, where he soon procured the patronage and confidence of
the best citizens and became known as a master hand in the treatment of dis-
and surgical cases, taking especial pride in the latter branch of his work.
Bui I '1 \\ ells has also taken an interest in affairs outside of his regular
calling and has done much for the advancement of the permanent good of
Shelton. He is a Republican in politics, and on the ticket of that party was
elected to the posl of mayor. In [886 he was married to Miss Lucy Brown,
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 60
a native of Blissfield, Lenawee county, Michigan, and a daughter of Alonzo
Brown, of that state. Dr. Wells is a prominent Mason, being a member of
the blue lodge, the chapter and the commandery, and a Shriner.
HON. EDWARD P. KINGSBURY.
In the early history of this country no profession was more necessary
than that of surveying. One can hardly realize the great labor and courage
required and dangers overcome in classifying and laying out sections, town-
ships and ranges in the vast areas of this country, and it is one of the oldest
and most venerable professions. In modern times it is also required to
clearly define boundaries of property. In this profession, to which the father
of our country also belonged, the Hon. Edward P. Kingsbury, now United
States surveyor general of Washington, occupies a prominent place.
The old English ancestors of this family came to Massachusetts at an
early day, and in that state all of the descendants lived and died except our
immediate subject. Elijah Kingsbury, the father of Edward P., was born in
1802, was a carpenter and farmer and lived and died in his native place.
His wife was Joanna W. Phipps, and was a daughter of Eli Phipps and
traced her ancestry back to Godfrey Phipps, who was governor of Massa-
chusetts in the early colonial days. Mr. Kingsbury was a worthy citizen
and held various offices of trust in his township. He passed away in No-
vember, 1888, in his eighty-sixth year, and his good wife died in 1877, at
the age of sixty-six years. Of their six children only two are living, the
eldest son of whom, W. A., is an eminent attorney and a judge of the district
court at South Framingham, Massachusetts.
Edward P. Kingsbury, the son of the above, was born September 25,
1855, >n Holliston, Massachusetts. He received his rudimentary education
in his native town and later attended Harvard .College, graduating in the class
of 1879. For several years after graduation he engaged in teaching, and
was superintendent of the schools of his town. He first arrived in Washing-
ton in June, 1889, settling at Centralia, where he engaged in the hardware
and grocery business. Mr. Kingsbury has always been prominent in politics,
has served in the city council and was elected mayor. In 1898 he was chosen
a member of the state legislature, and in the following year President Mc-
Kinley appointed him United States surveyor general for the state of Wash-
ington, an office which he at the present time is most creditably filling.
Socially he is a member of the Seattle Chapter of the Sons of the American
Revolution. Wholesouled and popular among his townsmen, he ljves a life
of honorable activity and one of benefit to his city and state.
THOMAS NEWTON HENRY.
There are many worthy and honorable occupations in life, and one's suc-
cess is not measured by the pursuit he follows. But surely none should
receive more honor for their life work than the patient, enthusiastic teacher,
who has so much to do with the formative period of youthful character.
Among these leaders of youth Professor Henry, superintendent of schools of
Thurston county, stands prominent.
70 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
His ancestors were Scotch-Irish. His great-grandfather and grand-
father li< ith 1" ire the name of George Henry. In 1836 his grandfather moved
from middle Tennessee to northwest Arkansas, settled on land there and
was a sturdy pi. nicer of that state. He and his wife lived to a great age on
their old home in .Madison county, and both died in 1894, aged respectively
eighty-five and eighty-four years.' They were Baptists in religion, and their
lives were long and useful.
Superintendent Henry's father was Rev. Jasper Jay Henry, a minister of
the Cumberland Presbyterian church and now a resident of San Francisco,
California, having spent a long and useful life in the ministry. During the
Civil war he was in the First Arkansas Cavalry, under Colonel Harrison, and
in the battle of Prairie Grove, in Arkansas, he received a shot in the leg,
which incapacitated him for service and made him a cripple for life. After
receiving an honorable discharge he devoted himself to the study of theology
and has since been in the ministry. He chose for his wife Emily Adair, a
lady of Scotch ancestry, who was born in northwest Arkansas, in Kingston,
which was also his own town; she was the daughter of Benjamin Adair,
i ancestors were from North Carolina and Alabama. Nine children
were bin to them, and three sons reside in the state of Washington, two
in Seattle.
Thomas Newton Henry records his birth as occurring in the city of
Sedalia, Missouri, on the inth of August, 1865. In Exeter Normal Academy,
in the same state, his special training was received, and after graduating
there in 1887 lie taught one year in that vicinity. The following year he came
to Olympia and served continuously as teacher in the schools until 1894; in
this year he was elected county superintendent of schools, and has most ably
fulfilled the duties of that position until now, except that for two years he
was principal of "lie of the public schools of Olympia. It is by his efficient
Systems introduced into the management of the county school system that
Superintendent Henry is best known. The schools have been brought to a
very high state of efficiency, and the interests of the people in the vital ques-
tion of education has been increased. ( >ne method which has been especially
:ssful is the publication of all the written reports of the various schools,
copies of which are distributed to all the teachers and school officers; by this
the work of all the schools is brought into closer relationship. He
also publishes a twenty- four-page local school paper, called the Thurston
ity School Bulletin; in this are published matters of educational interest,
small pictures and a brief history of all pupils graduating from the grammar
schools "i the county. By means of advertising matter the magazine has
been made elf supporting, and has proved to be a valuable auxiliary in ad-
vancing the public schools. Through such methods and the capable manage-
ment of Superintendent Henry, the schools of Thurston county are now well
known for their high standard and effective work. A thinker as well as an
enthusiastic educator, Superintendent Henry well deserves the success he has
ed and may take just pride in the results of his efforts. Superintendent
ry, having been for a number of years a member of the legislative com-
mittee of the State Teachers' Association, and by reason of his residence at
the capital, has had much to do with school legislation. He was the 'author
of the union high school law passed in [899; the law creating county boards
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 71
of grammar school examiners passed in 1901, and the compulsory education
bill passed 1903.
Superintendent Henry was happily married in 1896 to Margaret E.
Griffith, born in Lewis county, this state, and the daughter of Richard Grif-
fith, who was a native of Wales and came to the Pacific coast in 1849 and
to Lewis county in 1853. Of the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry
only one. survives, Vivian Adair Henry. They are both members of the
First Presbyterian church of Olympia. Mr. Henry is a member of Olympia
Lodge No. t, of the Masonic fraternity, the oldest Masonic lodge in the state.
But the entire interest of his active life is absorbed in the great cause of
education.
WILLIAM H. MOCK.
William H. Mock, who is now engaged in the undertaking business in
Whatcom, has resided here only since May, 1902, but has made his home in
Washington for more than twelve years. He has been connected with agri-
cultural and horticultural pursuits, and has also devoted much time to the
work of the ministry, for through much of his life he has been engaged in
preaching the gospel, never neglecting the higher, holier duties of man toward
bis fellow-men and his Creator. Well worthy of mention as a representative
citizen of Washington, we take pleasure in presenting to our readers this
record of the life of Rev. William H. Mock.
A native of Columbus, Ohio, he was born on the 13th of March, 1848, a
son of Samuel and Mary Ann (Keys) Mock, both of whom were natives of
Pennsylvania, and their respective ancestors had lived for many years in this
country. The maternal grandfather of our subject was a volunteer in the
war of 1812, and also rendered valiant service to the government in the war
with Mexico. To Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Mock were born five sons : Wil-
liam H., Michael F., George W., Orlando and Lafayette. The family was
well represented in the Civil war, and in fact loyalty and patriotism have
ever been among the characteristics of those who bear the name of Mock.
Four of the brothers fought for the Union cause, and George was killed in
the battle of Guntown, Mississippi, in 1863, thus laying down his life on the
altar of his country. He was a member of the Ninety-fifth Ohio Volunteer
Infantry; Michael was a member of the Twenty-sixth Ohio Volunteer In-
fantry ; George also served with the Ninety-fifth Infantry Regiment from
Ohio, and William was with the boys in blue first of the Forty-sixth Regi-
ment and afterward with the One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio Infantry.
William H. Mock attended the public schools of Columbus, Ohio, until
thirteen years of age, and then put aside his text-books, for the patriotic
spirit of the boy was aroused and he resolved to aid in the defense of the
Union. Accordingly he volunteered, becoming a member of the Forty-sixth
Ohio Infantry, in 1861. Later he again joined the army, becoming a member
of the One Hundred and Thirteenth Regiment of Ohio troops, with which
he fought for the nation's starry banner, serving almost four years.
When hostilities had ceased Mr. Mock returned home with a most credit-
able military record, for though but a boy his valor and loyalty were equal
to that of many a soldier of twice or thrice his years. He then resumed his
72 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
school life, and in 1867 entered Carleton Academy of Carleton, Illinois, where
he remained until 1868, after which he returned to Columbus. In that city
he was appointed a junior preacher on the Maxville circuit and began his
labors near Logan, Ohio. He traveled for several years or until the fall of
[872, delivering the gospel message and putting forth every effort in his
power to advance the cause of the church. In 1872, after casting his first
dential vote for General Grant, he removed to Minnesota, where he took
up one hundred and sixty acres of land, a soldier's homestead claim. He
continued his ministerial work, and was assigned to different circuits
there until [876. In the previous year he had been ordained in Red Wing,
Minnesota, as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1876 his
health failed and he was compelled to rest from further labor until the fall of
[877. At that time he removed to Kansas, where he engaged in the real
estate business and farming. He also served as pastor of the First Methodist
copal church in Anthony, Harper county, Kansas, remaining there until
1891. In 1888 he was a lay delegate from the Southwestern Kansas Meth-
odist conference to the general conference held in New York city. In the
same year he was ordained as an elder at the annual conference of the Meth-
odist church, at Wichita, Kansas.
In April, [891, Rev. Mock came to Washington and settled on a fruit
farm near Seattle, devoting his attention for some time to horticultural pur-
suits. I [e was also appointed to fill out the unexpired pastorate of the church
at Vashon, on Vashon Island. In 1896 he removed to Port Angeles, where
■ igaged in the undertaking business until May, 1902, when he came tc
Whatcom and established business in the same line at 1202-6 Elk street,
being now the senior member of the firm of W. H. Mock & Son. He is the
only licensed enibalnier in the county. He carries a complete line of under-
taker's goods, including caskets and robes, and in connection with his place
he ha.> a fine chapel, elegantly fitted up and comfortably arranged with a seat-
ing capacit) of .'bout one hundred.
Since coming to Washington Mr. Mock has also taken an active part in
political affairs, and was nominated on the Republican ticket for representa-
tive to the state legislature. He made a very strong race, being defeated by
. votes, 111 a year and in a district which gave a very large
Populist majority. The vote which he received was certainly a testimonial
to his pel sonal worth and an evidence of the confidence reposed in him by his
fellow-citizens. Mr. Mock is a member of several civic societies, belonging:
to the vncient Order of Foresters, the Independent Order of Lions, and the
Masonic fraternity. I le is also a prominent and valued member of the Grand
\rmv of the Republic, and is now serving for the third term as department
chaplain of Washington and Alaska, having filled the position since 1900.
In March, (869, Mr. Mock was united in the holy bonds of matrimony
to Miss Margaret R Smith, a native of Ohio, who died in Kansas in 1880.
They were the parents of five children: Lewis W\. who died at the age of
twenty-one year-: John M\. now thirty years of age; George W.. aged twenty-
eight; Mary J., the wife of George Sykes, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and
rles W.. a young man of twenty-two. In June. 1881, Mr. Mock was
again married, hi 1 union being with Susan L. Fawcett, a native of
Morgan county, < >hio, and the) have three children: Jessie W., who died at
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 73
the age of seventeen years; and Harrison Morton and Carrie H., twins, fifteen
years of age, and who were named for President Harrison and his wife.
Mr. Mock has exerted a wide influence on puhlic feeling, thought and
action, in the various communities in which he has made his home. He has
labored earnestly for the cause he has believed to be right in political and
public affairs, and his efforts in behalf of the church have been far-reaching.
He is inflexible in his adherence to his principles, and yet is not aggressive,
and accords to others the right of private opinion and belief. His genuine
worth has made him much respected, and well does he deserve mention among
the leading citizens of his adopted county.
HON. JAMES B. REAVIS.
Tbe administration of justice from the higher courts of the land requires
great discrimination, remarkable talent and wisdom, and he sits high in honor
who serves successfully in this capacity. Upon such men depends not only
the welfare of individuals but the good of whole communities. It is with
pleasure that we record the history of one who has been so prominent as a
citizen and jurist in the state of Washington and lias done so much to advance
the welfare of his state.
Hon. James Bradly Reavis comes from a long line of Scotch ancestors
who emigrated from England under the auspices of Ashley Cooper and
settled in Virginia in the Roanoke valley, later removing to North Carolina.
The great-grandfather of our subject, Isham Reavis, was a valiant soldier in
the Revolutionary war and among other engagements he participated in the
expedition to King Mountain, where the British were so signally defeated.
His birth occurred in 1748, in Virginia, and later he was a resident of North
Carolina. In 1800 he removed to the growing country of Kentucky, settling
in Warren county, and later, in 1817, he took up his residence in Saline county.
Missouri, where he was a large landowner and planter. The family were com-
municants of the Baptist church, and he was one of the pillars of that denomi-
nation. His death occurred when he was eighty-five years of age. His wife
was a Miss Jones and was a lady of Welsh ancestry. Among their sons was
Marcus Reavis, who was born in Virginia in 1772 and came west with his
father to Warren count}', Kentucky, and then to Missouri. He died in 1835,
aged sixty-three years. He was married in North Carolina to Lucy Bradly,
who was a descendant of a prominent South Carolina family. They were for
many years valued members of the Baptist church. Their family consisted
of six sons and four daughters, and of the former was John Newton Reavis,
our subject's father. His birth occurred in Warren county, Kentucky, on the
21st of October, 1817, but he later removed with his father to Missouri. He
there married Elizabeth Preston, a native of Clark county, Kentucky, and a
daughter of John Preston, a prominent and early settler of that state. Mr.
Reavis has long been a prominent stock farmer and is now a resident of
Monroe county, Missouri, in his eighty-fifth year. His good wife died in
1889. aged seventy-three years. They were always devoted members of the
Christian church.
Of their six children. Judge Reavis was the third child and the only
71 HISTORY O] ["HE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
member of the family living in the state of Washington. He was born on the
27th of May. 1848, 111 Boone county, Missouri, and was reared on his father's
farm until his eighteenth year, learning there many valuable lessons to help
him in his after life. His education was received in the public schools and in
a pri demy, and he also spent three years in the Kentucky University
.at Lexington. He then read law at Hannibal. Missouri, and was admitted to
bar in [874. lie practiced there until 1 S75 and then went west to the
city of ( hici rnia. His law practice was continued there until 1880,
at 'which time he settled m Washington territory, at Goldendale, and entered
into partnership with Judge Dunbar. They practiced together for several
years, having an office in Yakima and Klickitat counties and they did a large
and pn Stable general law business. In 1884 Judge Reavis was elected a
member of the territorial council, his district including the counties of Yakima,
kitat. Lincoln, Douglas, Spokane and Stevens. He was active in the
ige of the law making important changes in the method of taxing (ail-
- and also introduced the bill providing for the building of a school for
defective youth of the territory at Vancouver. He was also regent of the
university from (888 until the state was admitted in 1889. At the first
state election, in [889, Judge Reavis was a candidate of his party, the Demo-
cratic. ior judge oi the supreme conn, being nominated by acclamation, but
during t' m he was defeated. In [896 he was elected to the supreme
bench, and because of the seniority of Ins commission became chief justice, and
-nice that time has been one of the most able members of the supreme bench,
having had the settlement of many important cases of great value to the state
and it- pe 'pic.
Mr. Reavis was married in [89] to Miss M. Freeman, a native of Nash-
ille. Tennessee, ami a daughter of Smith and Martha ( Butler) Freeman, of
try and earl) settlers of New Jersey. The Butlers were of
rigin and went to Virginia at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Reavis are
the parent- of two children, Smith Freeman and Ann Preston. Judge Reavis
and prominent members of the Christian church, of which he is an
is a!— passed ill the chairs in both branches of Odd Fellowship.
11 and business man he has taken an active interest in the prosperity
hairman of the ( hamber of Commerce in Yakima, and
lity and influence to advance ever) worthy enterprise.
GENERAL ROBERT HOUSTON MILROY.
the farm us men who during his life reflected honor upon
Olympia ' e, was General Milroy. He was of Scotch-
""'" "'"' played .1 prominenl pari in the history of the old
well a- in America. His great grandfather was Henry McElroy,
Vnnandale, born in Scotland and a descendant of Sir Robert Bruce:
■hit ion in 1771. and. being defeated by the Duke
le in the battle of Culloden, he was obliged to flee, taking his wife
with him to Ireland: where he changed his name to Milrov. and as soon as
'•d get pat me to \.m ettling in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Samuel Milroy. the grandson of the above, was borri in Kisha-
?v%
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. r> Ml IX *
TILm ' .7K iNS
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 75
coquillas Valley, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, August 14, 1780, was one
of the first to come to the state of Indiana, where he founded the town of
Delphi and engaged in wars with the Indians, and was a man of great in-
fluence in that part of the country. His wife was a second cousin of General
Sam Houston, of Texas fame.
Robert Houston Milroy, one of their children, came into the world
in Washington county, Indiana, on the nth of June, 1816. His education
was received in the Military Academy at Norwich, Vermont, where he
graduated in 1843, Master of Arts, of Law. and of Civil Engineering and
Military Science, being valedictorian of his class. In 1850 he received a
diploma from the law school of Bloomington, Indiana, conferring on him
the degree of B. L. In 1845 he had gone to Texas, taken the oath of alleg-
iance and became a citizen of that flourishing young republic, when he was
called home by the death of his father. He remained to settle the estate,
and at the earnest entreaty of his mother did not return to Texas. He prac-
ticed law only a short time when he was called to take part in the war with
Mexico, in which he rendered gallant service as captain of the First Indiana
Regiment, After the war, in 1852, he was commissioned by the governor
of Indiana presiding judge of the eighth judicial district. In 1854 he re-
moved to Rensselaer, Jasper county, Indiana, where he engaged in success-
ful law practice until the breaking out of the Civil war. He was then com-
missioned colonel of the Ninth Indiana Volunteers on April 26, 1861, serving
under General McClellan in western Virginia, and taking part in the battles
of Grafton, Philippi, Laurel Hill and Garrick's " Ford. His three months'
service having then expired, he was mustered out on July 30, 1861, but re-
entered the service on the following September 5, and on the next December
attacked the Confederates in front of Cheat Mountain pass. On the 6th of
February, 1862, he was appointed brigadier general to rank from Septem-
ber 5, 1861. He then assumed command of the Mountain department and
put an effective stop to the guerrilla warfare in western Virginia; he issued
the order that if the property of a loyal citizen was destroyed or the citizen
killed, an appraisement of the property was to be taken and a list of those
killed to be made by federal officers, and if the amount was not paid over to
the widow or heirs within twenty-four hours, the rebel sympathizers in the
neighborhood were to be shot, and their property confiscated. President
Jefferson Davis applied through General Lee to General Ilallcck for a rescind-
ing of this order, but General Milroy refused to do so and was upheld by
President Lincoln. President Davis afterwards made this order the subject
of a special message to the legislature and that body offered a reward of ten
thousand dollars for GenerarMilroy, dead or alive. He and General Butler
were the only Union generals who were thus honored by the southern con-
gress.
He was attacked by the forces of General Jackson at McDowell and held
his ground until re-enforced by General Schenk, who assumed command,
and "there, on May 8, 1862, the'battle of McDowell was fought, after which
the Union forces retired to Franklin, and Jackson to Richmond. General
Milroy's brigade was then attached to General Sigel's corps of the Army of
Virginia and took part in the second battle of Bull Run on November 29,
76 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
1862. I [e was then made major general of the second division of the Eighth
Army Corps, nine thousand strong, and with McReynold's brigade occupied
Win. I ine 1 1. 1863. On being asked if it would not be advisable to
evacuate and join Kelly at Harper's Ferry, he replied that he could hold
the place against any force then in the valley; but he was unaware that at
thai momenl Lee was marching toward him to carry the war into the north.
of Ewell, Early and Johnson attacked him on two sides on
June 15, and after three days of hard fighting he was compelled to destroy
iiis artillery and baggage trains and retire to Harper's Ferry, losing thereby
a portion of his forces, but having delayed the advance of Lee and thus given
e an opportunity to collect his forces at Gettysburg. He was, never-
theless, placed under arrest for evacuating Winchester without receiving or-
ders from General Schenk, his superior in command, but was afterward re-
ted and ordered to Nashville. There he fought his last battle of the
war against Generals I'orrest and Bates on the field of Murfreesboro, and
defeated their combined forces, lie resigned his command July 26, 1865,
after having served valiantly in the great struggle for the upholding of the
I 'nion.
r the war General Milroy was appointed trustee of the Wabash and
Erie Canal Company. Later he became superintendent of Indian affairs in
Washington territory and served in that capacity from 1869 till 1874; he was
Indian agent in Washington from 1875 to 1885, when a change in the acl-
ministratii >n di placed him.
General Milroy was married in 1849 t0 Mary Jane Armitage, daughter
of Valerius Armitage of Delphi, Indiana. There were seven children born
to them, of whom only three are now living. General Milroy departed this
1 I mpia on the 29th day of March, 1890, aged seventy-four years,
and in this death not only the family lost one who was above all dear to
them, but the whole country had Inst a patriot, brave warrior, and public-
spiriti n. Ill-- devoted wife still survives at the age of seventy-eight,
and loved, the sweetness of her disposition increasing with the ad-
the years. She resides with her son, Valerius A.
Valerius A., the m of General Milroy. who has kindly furnished the
material for the above -ketch, is now one of the well known and respected
men of < Hympia. I te was horn in Rensselaer, Jasper county, Indiana, August
17, 1855, ' Ins education in the public schools of his native county,
in Olympia and in a business college in Portland, Oregon. When he was
eighteen yeai he came to Washington territory and acted as clerk
in Ins lather's office while that one had charge of the Indian affairs; for
iged in surveying, was employed at the printer's trade,' and
years was in the livery business with Mr. O'Connor. Until 1889
i mercantile pursuits, at which time he received the appointment
tmaster of Olympia by President Harrison. In this he showed great
1 ability: under his capable management the office was raised from
the third 1 id class; the receipts were increased from four
sand dollars annually to twelve thousand; and a free delivery system
His term expired m 1S04, and 1901 he was elected city
clerk of 1 Hympia. which place he is at present filling most satisfactorily. His
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 77
politics are Republican, and he is connected with all movements with the
welfare of his city and county in view.
WILLIAM WILEY DICKERSON.
There are in common use in the language of this country many terms
expressive of a combination of qualities which is the characteristic of a certain
class of men, and terms which, when applied to an individual, need no other
commentary, for they are at once indicative of his standing in the business,
social, or whatever place he may occupy before the world. The word
" hustler " is one of these expressive epithets, and the man so designated is
known to be one of those wide-awake, energetic and persevering Americans
who is successful in his undertakings and never knows when he is defeated.
And as a hustler may we speak of William Wiley Dickerson, who is one of
the leading produce and grocery men of the city of Centralia, Washington,
and has been engaged in that line of business since 1892.
For the immediate ancestors of this gentleman we must go to the state
of North Carolina, and going still further he is found to be of good old
English stock. Grandfather Wiley Dickerson was one of the first settlers of
North Carolina, was an industrious and well-to-do farmer, and lived to be
ninetv vears of age. His son, James Dickerson, was born in North Carolina
in 1820. and he took for his wife Sarah Stout, a native of his own state; his
wife died in 1873 at the age of fifty-five, but he survived many years and
died when seventy-four years old. in 1894. They had ten children; eight of
them are now living, but William Wiley is the only one in Washington.
William Wiley Dickerson was born in North Carolina, March 24, 1848,
and was there reared to years of maturity. He early took to merchandising
as a career, and for a number of years followed that pursuit in Texas. In
1889 he decided to try new scenes, and, as Washington had just been admitted
to the sisterhood of states, he came here, and in 1892 located in Centralia; he
at once opened his grocery, and has paid such close attention to business and
has been so honorable in his dealings with his customers that his trade has not
been confined to the limits of the city but extends in a radius of nearly forty
miles around the city.
In 1878 Mr. Dickerson was united in marriage to Miss Lela Cordelia
Fleming, who is a native of his own state and a daughter of Franklin Fleming;
three daughters have been born of this union, Nora Ethel, Vera and Viola,
twins. The family are members of the Methodist church and reside in a nice
home in the north part of Centralia. Mr. Dickerson belongs to tin- Masonic
order, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen;
he has the honor of being the treasurer of the last named order, and also of his
blue lodge.
FRANK T. McNITT.
The city of Centralia contains no more enterprising and successful busi
ness man than Frank T. McNitt. From a small beginning lie has developed
his hardware store until he now owns one of the most complete stocks to he
found in anv city of the size in the state. This gentleman is a descendant of
78 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
worthy Scotcli forefathers; at an early date in the history of this country
four are said to have come from Scotland to Pennsylvania and
founded the family whose members are now in different parts of the Union.
Thomas Brown McNitt, the father, was bom in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania,
and when a young man removed to Montgomery county, Illinois, where he
was one of the early settlers of that agricultural region; he was one of the
founders and was active in promoting the interests of the Lutheran church,
which was founded in behalf of the many German inhabitants of that locality.
ife was Sarah Cress, a native of North Carolina and a daughter of
I i Mr. and Mrs. McNitt were farmers and resided near Hillsboro,
Montgomer) county, and he held a number of local offices and was an influ-
ential citizen and an excellent man in every respect. He died in 1859, aged
one years, while his wife still resides on the old homestead and has
reached the advanced age of eighty-three. They had eleven children, three
daughters and one son surviving.
I r; 11k T. McNitt is the only son and the only member of the family in
Washington, Montgomery county, Illinois, is the place of his nativity, and he
wash 0, 1845. The farm of his father and the country schools
if his early preparation for life, and he followed farming
until he was twent] seven, when he engaged in dealing in live-stock and
running a livery stable. About this time he suffered a bereavement in the loss
of his first wife and he soon after removed to Colorado; he first located in
Canon City and then went to Rosita, where for five years he met with con-
siderable success in conducting a grocery store. The next three years were
ess in Silver Cliff, but in 1882 he sold out and removed to Los
Vngeles, I rnia, where he bought an orange farm and devoted five years
iltivation of that luscious fruit, finding it a profitable investment.
\t't'-; his farm he made his first venture in the hardware line and
it for two years. The year 1889 is the date of his coming to Cen-
tralia. He opened a store in a small building which he had bought from
Woodam and Sprague, and his enterprise proved so successful and expanded
-1 rapidly that in [897 he purchased his present commodious two-story
structure, nin< I inety feet, in which he occupies the middle store; he has
a tin \ t'eet. an ell one hundred by thirty, and other ware-
provide C Iter for his extensive stock; these buildings are located
in the heart of the business district. He carries fourteen thousand dollars'
1;. including all kinds of shelf and heavy hardware, farm ma-
chinci lies doors and all kinds of housebuilding
. and has a large tin shop and does plumbing, lie is also an extensive
1 fine home in the residence part of the city and
; in 1'"' -'iint'.-. Mr. McNitt's success may
bed t" his hard work more than any special genius, for in persistent,
intelligent effort is found the ke\ to nearly every portal of wealth and
the we Mi McNitt was married, in 1864, to Miss
M;»": han, a . Nova Scotia, and two children were born of
ives, Mary, the wife of L. M. Anderson, of Los Angeles. Cali-
McNitl died in tS;;v He married his present wife at Colorado
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 71)
Springs in 1875, his bride being Miss Lucy A. Pastor, the daughter of Adam
Pastor, a Colorado pioneer from Indiana. They have three children: Eva-
lene, now Mrs. Oscar Nielson, of Walla Walla; Pearl, at home; and Frank,
Jr.. who is helping his father in the mercantile business. The family are
members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. McNitt is a trustee and one of
its most earnest supporters. He is a Knight of Pythias of the uniform rank,
and has been master of the exchequer for the past twelve years; he is also a
member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is one of Centralia's
best known and most respected citizens.
HON. ERNEST LISTER.
The subject of this brief biography is a native of England, and his an-
cestors were an old established family. His father was J. H. Lister, born and
reared in his native land, and there married Ellen Hey, who became the
mother of four children, all born in England: Arthur, Albert T., Alfred and
Ernest. In 188 1 the father emigrated to Philadelphia, his family following in
1884; he had been long engaged in the iron foundry trade, and his brother,
David Lister, had preceded him to Tacoma, Washington, where he had started
the pioneer foundry and iron works in that city, and here J. H. came with his
family and has since resided. He carried on a flourishing business for a
number of years, but is now retired from active life, having attained the age
of seventy-three years; his wife passed away in 1893, at the age of sixty.
They were members of the Methodist church, and people of great worth and
character.
Ernest Lister was born on the 15th day of June, 1870, and was but four-
teen years of age when he arrived in Tacoma. There he completed his educa-
tion in the public schools and in the Tacoma Business College. After com-
pleting his education he learned the iron moulder's trade with his father, and
later embarked in the real estate and insurance business, in which he had con-
siderable success. He took an active interest in politics and in April. 1894,
he was elected a member of the city council, in which he served very efficiently
until 1896; in that year he was an able worker in the fusion campaign for tin-
election of Governor Rogers. The large vote secured in the Tacoma district
aided materially in the election, giving Mr. Rogers a large majority in the
former Republican state, and the fusion party was greatly gratified by its
success. As a reward for his services Governor Rogers appointed him a com-
missioner of public institutes under the first board of auditors. Soon after
the legislature passed a bill providing for a state board of control which
should have charge of the two hospitals for the insane, the state penitential}.
reform school, the school for defective youth, the state soldiers' home: it was
to have the whole care of these institutions and to purchase all supplies. Mr.
Lister was appointed chairman of this important board, and upon the suc-
cession of Lieutenant Governor McBride to the governorship he was retained
in the office in recognition of his faithful services, being now the Democratic
member on the board. In politics Air. Lister has been a Populist, but in the
fusion came over to the Democratic side.
Mr. Lister's marriage was celebrated on the 28th of February, 1S92,
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Alma Tlmm: -liter of Samuel Thornton, of Tacoma, becoming his
her birthplace was at Salem. Oregon. They have a little daughter,
their pleasant home they entertain many friends, and their
home life is ideal.
II. (;. RICHARDSON.
te o) Washington is now one of the great centers of the lumber
industry, and its immense timber areas are supplying many of the less favored
prairi with the material which is so necessary in this twentieth cen-
tury civilization. Among these manufacturers is the subject of this article,
the leading shingle-maker in Thurston county and a representative business
In the early history of the country three Richardson
brothers came from England, and, landing in Massachusetts, one settled in
New England, another went south and the third moved westward; and our
- of the New England branch. David Richardson, the
grandfather of 11. < i. Richardson, was born in New Hampshire and was a
i and influential farmer of that state.
i. Richardson, the father of II. G, was horn in Lisbon, Grafton
lunty, Xew Hampshire, on the old homestead that for many generations
lown from fall ■ Reared and educated in his native town,
a millwright, building many of the mills in his county, and he
owned a farm. His wife, Julia II. Whiting, of the same state, became
f five children, three sons and two daughters, all living. When
. third year the father died in 1890, but his good wife still re-
' seventy-three. lie became a Republican when that party
inized in [851 a reputation as a valuable citizen.
H. G. R on of the above and the only representative of
ishington, was born Vpril _•_•, 1854, in Lisbon, New Hamp-
111 in the public schools of his town and in the
me Institute. Like his father he learned the trade of millwright,
and built and operated mills.
twenty three he hade adieu to his native home and went
lenl five years in Florida, from there going
1 and finally came, in [889, to this state, residing first at Tacoma.
95 that Mr. Richardson came to Olympia and opened up
His eaM side mill at first had a daily capacity of only
iv. but in [9 he bought the mill on the west side,
there are daily produced two hundred and
red • r A shingles, lor which there is a large
niddle west as well as in the local market. In the
e employed, and in cutting and bringing the material
Me owns a large tract of timber land from
He i president of the Six Eagle Mining
s marriage was celebrated in [886, when he be-
Mary E. Knickmeyer, of Apalachicola, Florida, the
tin Robert Knickmeyer. a captain of the Confederate armv.
r
ASTOI- L«N.>X AND
T1LDEN FOIJNOATtONS
J
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. SI
Three daughters have been born to them: Hortense A., Louisa and Leonora.
Their home is one of Olympia's beautiful residences.
In politics Mr. Richardson is a Republican. He serves in the city coun-
cil, and is active and ready to advance the interests of Olympia. He is a
member in the fraternity of the Royal Arch Masons, a member of the Ancient
Order United Workmen and is identified with the Hoo Hoos, an extensive
organization of lumbermen. His wife belongs to the Episcopal church, and
the family is a well known one in the city.
GEORGE W. BELL.
George W. Bell, who is one of the representative farmers of Thurston
county and one of its county commissioners, came to the territory of Washing-
ton in 1878. He is a native of Nova Scotia, born April 7, 1850, and is of
Scotch ancestry. His parents, James and Alary (Roddick) Bell, were natives
of Dumfrieshire, Scotland, and were marrie^-jri: that country. Soon after-
ward they bade adieu to home and friends and sailed from the land of the
heather to Nova Scotia, where the father followed his trade of milling, be-
coming the owner of a custom flour mill. Both Ire and his wife were Scotch
Presbyterian people of the highest respectability and' integrity, and upon the
minds of their children they impressed lessons of industry and honesty. They
had ten children, seven of whom are yet living, but George W. Bell is the
only one who resides in Washington. The father died in 1892, at the age of
seventy-three years, and the mother is living, in the eighty-first year of
her age. >i
Reared to manhood and educated in his native town, George W. Bell
remained under the parental roof until he had attained his majority, and in
1873 went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he began life on his own account,
following any pursuit that he could get that would yield him an honest living.
He spent four years in Boston and then went to the Black Hills country, but
lost money in his venture there and had to drive a freight team in order to
get back again. He spent the winter of 1877-8 in Hutchinson, Colorado, and
then came to Olympia, where he was employed in a sawmill for forty-five
dollars per month. In the fall of 1879 he became engaged in the Indian
service under General Milroy, and thus his time was passed until 1882, and
then for seven years was in the Indian service with Agenl Edwin Eels, lie
removed to a farm five miles northeast of Olympia. At first he purchased one
hundred and sixty-five acres of land, and as he prospered lie added to this
tract until within the boundaries of his farm at the present time is a tract of
three hundred acres of rich, arable and productive land. He has erected a
good residence and other farm buildings, and is actively engaged in general
farming and stock-raising, his efforts being attended with good success.
In politics Air. Bell has been a stalwart Republican since becoming an
American citizen, and by his party lie was nominated and elected to th
of county commissioner,' which position he is filling mosl aci eptably, d
ing his duties conscientiously, promptly and earnestly, I ing assidu-
ously to benefit the county in its financial features and every way possible.
In 1881 was celebrated the marriage of Air. Bell and Miss ' ina F.
6*
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Thompson, a native of Prince Edward Island. They had one child, who
died in infancy, and .Mrs. Bell departed this life in 1895. Four years later,
was married to Miss Mary A. Thompson, a sister of his first
wife. Sh( ■ sbyterian in religious truth, and both have a wide acquaint-
ance and are very highly esteemed citizens of Thurston county.
JOSEPH F. KEARNEY.
Kearney, the father of the prosperous merchant whose name
heads this brief biography, was born in Ireland in the town of Kildare, Janu-
$7. Aiter being educated in his native country, in 1S66 he decided
eek his fortunes in the new world, and accordingly emigrated and settled
in Auburn, New York. Here lie was married, and in 1874 came west to
lington, bringing his family with him. In the east he had worked as a
quarryman and had managed t<> save a considerable sum of money; and with
this he bought, on his arrival in the territory of Washington, one hundred and
sixty acres of land and built a good home. He still owns the farm but has
retired from active work, and the family live in a pleasant place in Olympia.
They are devoted members of the Catholic church and are highly respected.
While in New York Thomas Kearney married Miss Mary Byrne, born in
Ireland in 1845, ant' sne came to America in the same year that he did. Four
child' born to them in New York: Margaret Ellen, the wife of James
T. Twohej and residing near Olympia; William is in Olympia; Joseph F. ;
and Mary Ann. the wife of John O'Hara, of Aberdeen. Since coming to
three other children have been born, Thomas John, in the store
with Joseph F. ; Henr) lames and Elizabeth Agnes are at home with their
parents.
Ilic birth of Joseph F. Kearney occurred in the town of Auburn, New
York I1' [872. He enjoyed a good education, attending St.
Mai ind taking the commercial course in St. Martin's
where he wa in [889. lie had learned the valuable les-
try and honest toil on his father's farm, and on the completion
and his return to 1 >!■ mpia he began clerking in the store of
II. .11. John Byrne. Fortified with this experience, in 1897 he opened
1 in Olympia, and almost from the start
Rourishii carefully increased by his honor-
led that he has the largest grocery
He J . and well kept store and supplies to the
and produce, hay and grain; he does a
'i men in his employ, and his trade extends throughout
Thui v a part ,: county.
In 1898 M' - husband of Miss Emma McMahan,
I tarold and ! io \gnes. Mr. Kearney
belief and devotes his whole time and attention to
lie has mad. 1 nspicuous a success, and, as be is
l,K ,,r ' 'ng and prosp uture may he expected
him.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 83
DAVID T. DREWRY.
In the life of every man who has made a success in business or other
lines there are usually some predominating characteristics to which we may
ascribe the larger share of his material prosperity, and in the case of the
subject of this brief sketch we should say it was due to his persevering in-
dustry and his absolute self-reliance, for it is a matter of pride with him that
he has always paddled his own canoe. And as a representative farmer and
early pioneer of Thurston county, David T. Drewry here deserves prominent
mention.
Silas O. and Elizabeth Drewry were both natives of the state of Ken-
tucky, and the former was the owner of a grist mill and engaged in lumbering.
While they were- residing in Livingston county of that state, there was born
to them on the 6th of November, 1836, the subject of this biography. Five
years later he lost his father, and the following year his mother. After this
sad event the boy David lived with his uncle in Nodaway, Missouri, where he
worked on the farm and attended school. In 1853, when seventeen years of
age. he crossed the plains in company with Colonel William Cock; they drove
six yoke of oxen all the way, and, crossing the Missouri river on the 10th of
May, they completed the trip in one hundred days, which was good traveling
for those primitive times. With them was a man who had made the journey
several times before, and they were thus able to take advantage of all the
cut-offs, being also spared trouble with the Indians or the ravages of disease.
On arriving in the Willamette valley Mr. Drewry worked for a short
time, and then coming to Olympia he assisted Colonel Cock in the building of
the Pacific House, remaining in his service for two years. On the outbreak
of the Indian war in 1855 he enlisted in the first company formed, called the
Puget Sound Rangers, and continued on active duty until the insurrection was
quelled; in the latter part of the service he was under Captain Shed. In this
war each trooper was obliged to furnish his own horse and outfit. After the
war David employed himself at different things in Olympia and in the country.
In the year 1857 he was employed on the farm of Charles Weed, and there
had what lie has always considered the good fortune to fall in love with his
employer's sister. Miss Emaline Weed, who was born in Connecticut in 1841
and came to Washington by way of the Isthmus in 1855; in 1858 they were
happilv married. For a time Mr. Drewry conducted a hotel in Olympia, and
then bought the Gabriel Jones farm of three hundred and twenty acres. To
this he has since added eighty acres, and now owns one of the finest farms in
Thurston county, two hundred acres being improved, with wells, windmills,
commodious barns and all the latest farm machinery. He raises good horses
and cattle, and grains of all kinds, sometimes his land producing forty-five
bushels of oats and thirty-five of wheat to the acre. He also carried on a
dairy with success for a time, and was interested in a livery stable in Olympia.
He now keeps twenty head of cattle on his ranch and raises his own horses of
the Norman Percheron breed. As a careful, successful farmer he takes front
rank in his county.
By his marriage Mr. Drewry had five children ; Almon D. is married
and lives near his father; Harvey O. is married and resides in Seattle; Ed-
-i HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
ward V. and his wife arc on the farm with his father; two of the children
died in infancy. Mrs. Drewry is a member of the Christian church and is a
represent I the ] neer women of Washington. Mr. Drewry has been
rat, and has never joined any society, as he has been too
deep: in his own affairs, wherein lies the secret of his prosperity.
FREDERICK HARRISON WHITWORTH.
lerick Harrison Whitworth, of the firm of Cotterill, White & Whit-
,-il engineer-. Seattle, Washington, was born in New Albany, Indi-
ana. March j nd comes of English ancestry on the paternal side and
naternal. George F. Whitworth. his father, was born
in B ngland, in [816; came to the United States in 1828, and has
spent the greater part of his life in Washington, as a minister in the Presby-
terian chi living retired, in Seattle, His wife, who before mar-
Elizabeth Thomson, was a native of Kentucky. She died
in [882. I h( n of this worthy couple number five, three sons and two
(iters, i th< subjed of tins' sketch and James Edward,
.il engineers, the latter in Columbia City, Washington; George F. Whit-
1, Jr., is a physician of Berkeley, California; Clara is the wife of William
judge in Los Angeles comity, California; Etta B. is the wife
of ( Jarence I- White, of
When hi .en years of age. Frederick II. Whitworth came with
'lie far west, their location being in Washington territory, where
irly education in the public schools. Then he took a course
School in Oakland, California, and a collegiate
1 nia, where he graduated in 187 1, receiving
V B. Two years later the degree of A. M. was conferred upon
him. He spent on work in Princeton University.
Returnii in 1874, Mr. Whitworth accepted the position of
1 rritorial University of Washington, which he filled
1 f thai time he took up civil engineering, in which he
d. in \\ on and Alaska, at the latter place in
\ part of the time he was occupied in the examination
of mineral pn in [898 put in the water works at Skagway. A
irk in Washington has keen in connection with coal
I fe v 1 1 1 cted largely with the first opening up
ew Ca tie, Renton and Talbat coal mines, and
d the Gili 0 tl mines, also the Leary mines.
ted with the South Prairie and Wilkinson mines in Pierce
1 \amined nearly till the other coal mines
His ering work was the building of
n the New Castle mines to Lake Washington, across the
nion;and from Lake Union to Pike street in Seattle where
That was in 1875-6. He was connected with the
rk, under T. 1!. Marsh, in [875. It was
d that united the people and was really the beginning
>"""<: ttle spirit," and it ultimately forced recognition
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 85
on the part of the Northern Pacific Railroad. When that road passed into
Henr}' Villard's hands, Mr. Whitworth was still connected with it, and made
the first preliminary surveys on which was constructed the line to Black Dia-
mond and Franklin. He was the chief engineer of the Seattle, Lake Shore &
Eastern Railroad in its inception. This line saved the city in its second fight
against the Northern Pacific, which had gone into the hands of Wright, who
had decided to eliminate Seattle from the railroad maps. In 1874 Mr. Whit-
worth was one of the organizers and was chief engineer and manager of the
Washington Improvement Company, organized for the purpose of cutting a
canal from Lake Washington through to tide water. The other members of
the company were D. T. Denny, H. B. Bagley, J. J. McGilvra. B. F. Day and
E. M. Smithers. This company finally succeeded in cutting a small canal
between lakes Washington and Union, and opening the outlet to tidewater,
on or near the line of the present proposed government canal. In 1876 he
was a member of the firm of Eastwick, Morrison & Company, engineers,
which by city authority was employed to establish the first city grades and
locate and monument most of the street lines in the central part of Seattle.
As a member of the firm of Cotterill, White & Whitworth, he is associated
with George F. Cotterill and his brother-in-law, Clarence White.
Politically. Mr. Whitworth is a Republican. He has always taken an
active interest in politics, has frequently represented his constituents in county
and state conventions, and before the admission of Washington to statehood
served on the county central committee. He was elected county surveyor of
King county, and served most of the time for ten years, from 1876 to 1886,
and for eight years, 1878 to 1886, was city engineer.
Mr. Whitworth is a man of family. April 28, 1881. he married Miss
Ada J. Storey, a native of Machias, Maine, and a daughter of a prominent
lumberman of that state. They have one son, Frederick H.. Jr., who is as-
sisting his father as engineer and preparing himself for an electrical .engineer.
Mr. Whitworth and his family attend worship at the First Presbyterian
church, of which they are members.
»
JOHN SIMPSON.
John Simpson, farmer and prosperous resident of Everson, Washington,
was born at Perth, Lanark county, Ontario, Canada, in i860, and is a son of
Peter and Jessie (McDonald) Simpson, the former of whom was born in Scot-
land and came to Canada when a young man. 1 le learned the trade of miller
when a young man and has followed that calling during the greater portion of
his active life. He is still living, residing in Lanark county, as is the mother,
who was also born in Scotland.
At the age of nineteen years John Simpson left home and came west,
locating in British Columbia,' where he lived from [879 to 1883, working in
the logging camps and where now stands the flourishing city of Vancouver.
This city did not spring into prominence until the completion of the Canadian
Pacific Railroad to that point.
In 1883 Air. Simpson came to Washington, locating in Whatcom rounty,
in the upper Nooksack valley, where Everson now stands, and was one of the
HISTORY OF nil. PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
. Itlen here. For six years he drove a freight team between Whatcom
1 the I settlement, the railroad nut being completed here until the
891. In (888 he married .Mrs. Annette Harkness, who owned a
Nooksack Crossing, one-half mile down the
from where Everson now stands. She is of English extraction, and was
alia. "1'wo children have been born to this happy
111* 'ii . namely: J< • . aged fourteen years, and Bertha, aged eight years.
meanwhile Mr. Simpson had bought land fur a farm which was
g cif Ins present line ranch, adjoining the town of Everson. In
■Id out his mercantile interests and has thenceforth devoted all his
i" building up and developing his farm, which consists of one hun-
sixty acn ery rich land. I lay and barley are the principal
s place he has built the finest residence in Everson, and he
illy takes a deep pride in the fact that he has made by his own energy
■st excellenl farm from a trad of land that until very recent years was
all forest, and that he cleared it all himself.
April [5, [903, he helped to institute a lodge of Odd Fellows at
is vice grand, lie and his wife belong to the Presby-
n church, audi are prominenl in the pleasant social life of the flourishing
Mr. Simps' in is one of the mosl prominent and substantial citizens
I bis prosperity is increasing with every year.
S \.\ll I.I. It IURTNER.
tner, one of the /erj prominent residents of Edmonds,
• was in. I ebruarj ..7. [851, in Hancock, Ohio, and is a son
ourtner, born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. By occupation the
ic, and died 111 [888, having come of an old American
cent. The maiden name of the mother was Susana
1 Hancock county, and her father participated
following family was bor-n to the parents of our
Henr) J., feed and grist mill owner "in Hazleton, Iowa;
amier n of Nebraska ; 1 ieorge, a farmer of Oklahoma;
of Oswego, Oregon; Franklin, a blacksmith of Ne-
ur subject; Mary, who married William Fisher, a farmer of Ne-
niel Fourtner was 1 ; in the public schools and normal of Inde-
l"ua. graduating from the latter institution in 1874. He then
■'"'« "" business at Hazleton, towa, and later went to
Nebra k for six years. In December, 1885 he
I "'1 January 5. [886, went to Edmonds, Washington
ul"'" families had 1 led themselves, the men being engaged in
hing lumber and timber for a wharf. Samuel embarked
hundred and sixty acres one mile from the present
ind has continued on tin- Farm ever since. This property
has ' fine farm and is held at a high figure,
1,1 March, to..-. M, Fourtner, with his son-in-law, L. C. Fngel and
u " K"ss- purchased a building on water from and established the ma-
1 p
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 87
chinery for manufacturing shingles. Later they intend to manufacture lum-
ber. The company is incorporated under the name of the Keystone Mill
Company, with a capacity of one hundred thousand shingles per day. and of
it Mr. Fourtner is president and general manager. He is a stockholder of the
Edmonds Co-Operative Improvement Company, which owns and operates
the only public wharves in Edmonds. In politics he is a Liberal. He was a
school trustee and school clerk in Illinois, and a member of the city council
for the past three years, but recently resigned. Mr. Fourtner was in Nebraska
during the grasshopper plague, and was appointed by the government to dis-
tribute aid, he being general distributor for the counties of Jefferson in Ne-
braska and Washington in Kansas.
On April 5, 1874, he was married in Makanda, Jackson county, Illinois,
to Ellen Goodman, who was born there, a daughter of Calvin Goodman, a
farmer of Makanda, who was killed in the battle of Belmont. Missouri, in the
northern army. The Goodman family is an old one in America and comes of
English descent. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Fourtner, namely: Frederick Arthur, assisting his father in the mill; Mary
Zetta, who married L. C. Engel, of the Keystone Mill Company. Samuel
Fourtner and L. C. Engel were the original locators of the now famous Ethel
copper mines of Index, Washington.
HON. HENRY McBRIDE.
There are few lives crowned with the honor and respect accorded to
Henry McBride, the present governor of Washington. Through the years
of his residence in the state his has been an unblemished character. He has
displayed none of those dazzling, meteoric qualities which command world-
wide, but transient, attention; but has been one of the world's workers, as-
sisting materially in laying the foundation for the stability, progress and sub-
stantial growth of the commonwealth, and thus his name is enrolled high on
the scroll of honored and representative men of his adopted state.
A native of Utah, Henry McBride was born in Farmington, in February,
1856, and, on the paternal side, comes of Scotch-Irish ancestry, his grand-
father having emigrated from the old world to America when a young man
and established his home in the state of New York. • George McBride. the
Governor's father, was born in western New York and, after arriving at
years of maturity married Miss Ruth A. Miller, a native of the state of
Indiana. Miss Miller was of English ancestry, the family having been
founded in America several years before. In 1857 George McBride was
killed by the Indians, in Idaho. His widow still survives, in the seventieth
year of her age, and her mother is still living, at about the age of one hundred
years, the family being noted for longevity.
Governor McBride attained his education in the east, and in [880 went
to California, where he remained two years. In 1882 he took up his abode
in the Puget Sound country, and, after teaching school for a time in Island
county, removed to Skagit county, where for three terms he was employed as
the teacher of the Laconner school. During that time he read law, prepara-
tory to taking up its practice as a life work, and, in the spring of 1884, having
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
le principles of jurisprudence, he was admitted to the bar
in J. . by Judge Green, who was then on the bench. He entered at
upon the practice of his chosen profession, wherein he was destined to
le and prominent position. The young lawyer, in his con-
s with older and experienced men, whose reputation and patronage were
hard school, but it afforded excellent training, and,
with the best, his mind was developed, his intel-
lectual p quickened and strengthened, and he acquired a readiness
tion, a fertility of resource, and a courage under stress, which have been
ential factors in his successful career.
While still residing in Laconner, Governor McBride was united in mar-
i Alice i larrett, a native of Island county, Washington, her father
a prominent pioneer of that county and of English ancestry. Mr. Mc-
ntinued to practice in Laconner and became also a recognized leader
in political circles there, being a pronounced Republican. He attended the con-
ins aid and inlluence to promote its success, and
his I • re not without results. In 1888 he received the nomination of
was elected prosecuting attorney of Skagit and Whatcom coun-
term in thai office. Then Skagit and Island counties were
nd Mr. McBride was appointed to that office, which
he filled until [892. In 181/) he was defeated at the polls, as were all
ther candidates seeking election on the Republican ticket, owing to a
n of Democrats a; lists. In 1898 he was a member of the county
convention and was made chairman of the Republican county central com-
mittee, instituting a county campaign which was so capably planned and
carried (ait that it resulted in a splendid victory for the entire Republican
l'i ed with the nomination for lieutenant-governor
a strong state canvass. He received the public
•nt through Ins 1 Upon the death of Governor Rogers, De-
liis office, he became the chief executive of his
ernor McBride at once entered upon the duties of the
• administration evinces that he has superior executive ability,
king and careful ,, and his whole energies are directed
igh which flows the greatest good to the greatest mim-
is, courteous and agreeable, so that he wins friends easily,
m behalf of the ire sustained by the best element of
3 of party affiliation. He is conservative
Force resultant for good.
■Nl' B d member of the Masonic fraternity, also
! fellows and of the Benevolent and Pro-
ln religious faith he and his wife are Episcopalians
of the very high esteem in which they are held
'I he Governor is a conservative man and' must be
in. always striving to build up for the benefit of the
in the commonwealth believing
innol Maud still: they must g0 forward; they cannot
His mental characteristics are of the solid and
'■'■ than 1 itious and brilliant order and he is essen-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 89
tially strong in his intellect, and capable of reaching safe, prudent and reason-
able conclusions. Such a man is well worthy to guide the ship of state.
FORBES P. HASKELL, JR.
Forbes P. Haskell, Jr., assistant cashier of the Fidelity Trust Company
of Tacoma, was born at Oakland, California, on the nth of May, 1873, and
is a son of the Hon. Forbes P. and Emma (Howard) Haskell. His paternal
grandfather, Henry Haskell, was a native of Essex county, Massachusetts, in
which the famous city of Gloucester is situated, and there also were born the
great and the great-great-grandfather of our subject, the family history
being closely connected with that locality. Henry Haskell married Sarah
Coffin Phelps, a descendant of one of the oldest families in Essex county. Her
father, Dr. Phelps, was a medical graduate of Harvard University and was
the first physician and apothecary in Gloucester, in the days when the local
physician was obliged to have an apothecary shop of his own. Three Phelps
brothers came to America from Great Britain in the seventeenth century,
and Mrs. Haskell was a descendant of the one who located in Massachusetts.
The first minister to locate in Gloucester was Parson Forbes Phelps. Both
Mr. and Mrs. Haskell have long since passed away.
Hon. Forbes P. Haskell was born near the historic old town of Glou-
cester, Massachusetts, in 1844. In 1861, at the age of seventeen years, he
enlisted on the United States brig Kingfisher for naval service in the Civil
war, serving throughout the entire struggle on that and other vessels, and
sailing from the west coast of the Gulf to the Carolinas. His experience was
dangerous and exciting, and he participated in both battles of Fort Fisher on
the South Carolina coast. He enlisted for service as a boy, but was dis-
charged as a master mate, his military career continuing until August, 1865.
After the close of the struggle Mr. Haskell journeyed westward, being a
member of one of the surveying parties sent out by the Kansas Pacific Rail-
road Company to locate the first railroad into Denver. He was next engaged
in the preliminary survey over the old Atchison trail through New Mexico
and Arizona for what has since become the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad Company, that party having been among the first white people to
traverse the region which they explored. Reaching Los Angeles, California,
in the spring of 1868, Mr. Haskell went with others of his party from that
city to Washington, D. C, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, for the pur-
pose of procuring a subsidy from Congress to build a railroad, presenting their
notes of the survey for that purpose, but the attempt proved unsuccessful.
Failing in this venture, Mr. Haskell again came to the west and was engaged
in railroad-building in Missouri and Kansas for the succeeding two or three
years. Returning thence to the Golden state, he was in the service of the
Southern Pacific Railroad Company for some time, but, wishing to take care;
of his parents in their declining years, he returned to the east, and for a period
of nearly fifteen years resided in Gloucester, Massachusetts. While in that
city he served as one of the customs officers, and on the Republican ticket was
elected a member of the Massachusetts legislature, serving during the session
of 1888-9. In tne spring of the latter year he made a visit to the city of
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Taenia, and, being so favorably impressed with this section of country, he
ded to make it the future place of his abode. When the Fidelity Trust
pany was organized, in June, 1891, he was given charge of the safety
deposit vaults, which position he has ever since continued to fill, a faithful
and competent employe, enjoying to the utmost the confidence and esteem of
tin- i the hank as well as the clients and public generally. He has
been recognized as an efficient worker for Republican principles, and his
interest in the issues of the day that affect the national weal or woe has never
ed. The marriage of Air. Haskell was celebrated in Gloucester, Massa-
chusetts, in .March. 1S70, when Miss Emma Howard became his wife, and
they have four children. Fletcher O., Forbes Phelps, Charles Howard and
Ro3 G
Phelps Haskell, Jr.. received his education in the old parental
home 'i ( rloucester, and when sixteen years of age came to the west, arriving
three months after his lather's advent into Tacoma. During a period of
years he was employed in the Northern Pacific Railroad Company's
offices here, leaving their employ to accept a position with the same institu-
tion with which his father is connected, the Fidelity Trust Company. Start-
ing >! iffice hoy and collector, he has made remarkable progress, passing
1 ssively through the positions of individual bookkeeper, general book-
er, paj ing teller, and at the annual meeting for 1902 was
elected assistant cashier.
<>n tiie 26th of August, 1896, Mr. Haskell was united in marriage to
Mary E. Lovell, of Tacoma. and a daughter of Major Don G. Lovell,
a prominent old settler of this city. ( )ne child has heen born to brighten and
s home. Donald 1'".. and the family reside in a pleasant residence at
S'orth I 1 si reel, where they dispense a gracious hospitality to their many
'•' kell treasurer of the Tacoma Baseball Club. He is a
u"g m;m of ' nal attainments, ami Washington numbers him among
her 111 .in 'led s, ins.
LAFAYETTE WILLEY.
Captain Lafayette Willey was a well known figure in the Sound country,
■ oi his friends was an extensive one. He attained to promi-
se, and his earnest and well directed labors were abundant-
neriti ss that enabled him to spend his last four
- "i retirement From business an. I to leave his family in very comfortable
He was actively identified with the promotion of the inter-
'v. where for almost a third of a century he resided
He w..- lamihar with the historj ..I the state from pioneer times to the
nt, and took no inconsequential pari in the work of pro-ress and im-
ement.
tin Willey was born in Cherryfield, Maine, in 1854, and traced his
mas Willi who resided in New Hampshire as early
• K>" of that y. 11 howing him to be a taxpayer there at
Samue D and Hannah (Conley) Willey, the grandparents of
the < aptain, were both natives of the Pine Tree state, and Samuel Willey
f h't/^x^
uc "entity!
, AsToH , ,
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 91
his father, was born in Cherryfield, Maine, on the 14th of April, 1826. He
remained with his parents until he arrived at years of maturity, and was
reared upon a farm, while later he engaged in lumbering. On the 2d of
July, 1848, he married Miss Lydia Moss, and in 1859 he left his family in
the east, going to California by way of the Isthmus route. He mined in Sis-
kiyou county with fair success and afterward returned to his family, remain-
ing with them until 1867, when he again went to California, where he con-
tinued until 1870. when he removed to Mason county, Washington. He
then sent for his family to join him, and for some years he was engaged in
logging. In 1880 he removed with his family to Olympia, where he built a
nice residence, and with his sons was engaged in the steamboat business until
his death, which occurred in 1897. He was an honorable, upright citizen,
and with his sons had built up a large business, being the owner, in con-
nection with his sons, of the steamers Multnomah and the City of Aberdeen,
carrying passengers and freight between Olympia and Seattle.
Captain Lafayette Willey was sixteen ,-years- of age when he came with
his two brothers and a sister to San Francisco, journeying overland to that
place and thence going by steamer to PbrtlaYnl, by river boat to Olequa on the
Cowlitz, and by stage to Olympia. They had not been long in Olympia be-
fore the brothers obtained the contract for carrying the mail- between Olympia
and Oakland, then the county seat of Mason county,' located near, the present
city of Shelton. Thus the brothers began their seafaring life, carrying the
mail twenty-five miles in a rowboat and taking it twelve miles by land along
a dreary country road. For two years the mail was carried in this way, at
the end of which time they purchased the little steamer Hornet and a little
later bought the Susie, which was somewhat larger and which until lately
has been plying on the Tacoma and North Bay River route. Afterward they
sold the Susie and purchased the Willie, which was still larger, being sixty-
five feet long. This they ran between Olympia and Shelton. In 1889 they
purchased the Multnomah and put her on the river between Seattle and
Olympia. She is a fast steamer, well fitted up, and does a large business.
She is one hundred and fifty feet long, carries one hundred and fifty passen-
gers and one hundred and fifty tons of freight. The business continued to
increase, and the Willey brothers purchased the City of Aberdeen, which they
put on the same run with the Multnomah. She is one hundred and thirty-five
feet long and carries one hundred tons of freight. The brothers became the
captains and managers of their own ships, did a very extensive business
and were popular, not only with their many patrons, but also with all who
knew them. The Multnomah is a very economical steamer for her size and
very rapid, and when in competition has been found able to out-sail anything
in her class.
Captain Lafayette Willey took just pride in owning and sailing this
vessel. He served as the captain, and his brother George as the purser.
When their father joined them the company was named in his honor the
S. Willey Navigation Company. The volume of business done has become
extensive, and thus the brothers by their energy, perseverance and skill had
secured a large patronage and had become men of wealth. Captain P. L.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Willey now resides in San Francisco and George B. in Seattle. Their sister
is now Mrs. Lecretia Leighton.
tain Lafavettc Willey was happily married November I, 1874, to
Miss Belli , a native of' Missouri and a daughter of Alexander Yantis,
: in, plains with an ox team in 1854, when Mrs. Willey was but
three months old. They located in Thurston county, Washington, on a
donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, and Mr. Yantis improved
his farm and lived upon it throughout the remainder of his life. He was
married in Missouri to Miss Sarah Green, who departed this life in 1878,
when sixtj six years of age. while his death occurred in 1884, when he was
sevent) two wars of age. for he was horn in 1812. The Captain and Mrs.
Willey her. une i lie parents of four children, three sons and a daughter:
Samuel, Chester, George and Mrs. Ollie Shaw, the last named residing near
her mother, while the three sons are at home. By reason of ill health Captain
Willey had retired from active business four years before his demise. He
nol onl) a worthy and highly esteemed citizen, but also a loving and
devoted husband and father, and was a valued member of the Independent
Order of ( )'h\ Fellows and the Improved Order of Foresters. In his political
views he was a Democrat. Coming to the west when a young man and not-
ing the business possibilities which arose in this growing country, he took
advantage of these and through the exercise of his sound judgment and his
untiring labor won a place of prominence among the successful and honored
men of his adopted st;
FRANK S. SPRAGUE.
Commercial travelers of to-day, who go from place to place in lordly
i great distances in a few hours in magnificently appointed palace
cars, will be interested to learn how these things were done in the formative
1 of the great northwest. In the biography of the gentleman whose
name is given above the) will he introduced to an era, now passed away for-
w hen the merchant's customers were lew and far between and reached
onl) under the greatest difficulties. At the time Mr. Sprague made his first
as a distributor of goods, there were no railroads through Washington
and adjacent territory, the onl) means of communication being by way of
Streams and rude nails made here and there by the red men or their legiti-
mate l11 wild cowboys. Instead of ordering a lower berth
and arranging for tho of pounds of extra baggage, the traveling sales-
man inquired at the nearest Indian shack for a canoe or looked for a bronco
on which to load his pack, lie was glad to get across the river, or over the
•n any kind of extemporized b it his lone customer, wdio, perhaps,
twenty miles away and b) no means crowded with neighbors. Such
the rude beginn i crude methods which preceded the Northern
ireat Northern, and the 0 >u Short Line through the territory
hich the vigorous young commonwealth watered by the
nbia and its tributaries, with their busy commercial marts at Tacoma
Othei thru ing capitals.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 93
In 1854 Henry Sprague and his wife, who had been Miss Margaret
Foster, determined to leave their native state of New York and seek better
fortunes in the rapidly developing state of Iowa, buying a large tract of land
in Floyd county, where Floyd Center now stands, and engaging quite exten-
sively in farming. During the Civil war he was in the employ of the govern-
ment, as a builder of hospitals for the Union soldiers, but this occupation of
course ceased with the return of peace. Mr. Sprague removed to the state of
Michigan in 1867, but only remained a year and then returned to Iowa, and
located in Cherokee, Cherokee county, where he engaged in farming, but
worked mainly at his trade of constructing flouring mills. In 1875 he re-
moved to Oregon, where he spent the remainder of his days, and closed his
earthly career when about fifty-nine years old. Henry Sprague was a member
of the Baptist church, strongly Republican in his politics, and a man of
exemplary habits, as well as excellent business judgment, and these good qual-
ities were not lost on his son. who became the successful merchant now under
consideration. His wife and widow met her death in a railroad acciden*
which occurred August 25, 1902, and at the time of this untoward event
was in the eighty-fourth year of her age. Of their five children three are
living, and two are residents of the state of Washington, James being a citizen
of Kelso and Frank S. of Centralia.
Frank S. Sprague was born July 15, 1858, on his father's farm, during
the first residence of his parents in Iowa in Floyd county. Until seventeen
years old he attended the public schools and remained at home, deciding on
plans of future employment. He was still a boy when he made his first busi-
ness venture as an employe in a hardware store at San Francisco, and re-
mained there long enough to master the details as well as some of the large
features connected with this branch of the mercantile business. From Cali-
fornia he came up to Portland, Oregon, and from that as headquarters traveled
for years all over the Puget Sound country in search of trade for his house.
A pleasant hour may be spent any time listening to Mr. Sprague' s recital of
his experiences in those days, as a pioneer salesman in this sparsely settled
section. No locomotive whistle awakened the echoes, nor were there any
comfortable hotels at easy stages to welcome the weary traveler. All was raw
and wild and rude, and Mr. Sprague was glad to get from town to town in
canoes rowed by the Indians, whom he utilized as guides in his peregrinations.
His experiences, adventures and mishaps would furnish material for an inter-
esting serial story, but they were such as have been rendered impossible of
recurrence on account of the subsequent rapid development of the northwest.
All this, however, proved a valuable training for the future merchant, and
when Mr. Sprague engaged in the hardware business at Centralia, in 1888,
it was not as a novice, but as an experienced hand. What he had learned con-
cerning the inside of this business as well as the special needs in this line of the
population to which he catered, enabled him to make a success of his first
mercantile adventure on his own account. He " made money," as they say
out west, in hardware, but eventually disposed of his interests to Frank T.
McNitt for the purpose of dealing in real estate in Centralia. He prospered
in this line also, but. as often happens in the speculative periods "I" new towns,
he lost his accumulations in subsequent unfortunate adventures. Occurrence
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
of this kind, however, are looked upon as matters of course by these resource-
ful westerner.-, and soon we find Mr. Sprague challenging fate and fortune in
an entirely new role. In 1894 he established at Centralia a dry-goods store,
which he gave the name of " Up-to-date store," and any one who inspects its
e methods of the proprietor is apt to admit that the
title ■ nomer. The establishment consists of a building thirty by ninety
feet, two stories in height, and both floors are filled with well selected stock
of ladies' dress and fancy goods, and dress furnishings of all kinds, both for
men and women. Mr. Sprague thoroughly understands what is wanted or
ed by his trade, and his long experience both as a buyer and seller enables
him to lake advantage of the market so as to obtain the most profitable results.
much in sa\ that he is the most enterprising, as he certainly is
the mosl popular, of all the dry-goods merchants in or near Centralia, and his
energetic methods and business skill have enabled him to score very satisfac-
tory financial results. Certainly the Up-to-date Dry-goods Store, considering
that it has been in operation only eight years, has achieved a standing in the
mercial world quite complimentary to its founder and conductor.
Mr. Sprague, though voting the Republican ticket, has had little time for
ral politics, and his civic services have been confined to brief membership
n the city council. He holds fraternal relations with the Masons and Wood-
f the World, and on the social side of life is regarded as one of the
pleasanl companions to be found in the city. In 1886 Mr. Sprague was
happily married to Miss Elvena, daughter of John Dun fee, an eastern man
who gave hi- life to the Union while serving as a soldier during the Civil
war. In [902 was planned and built the dwelling house which they now
and whose contents and general surroundings indicate more plainly
words that the inmates are people of taste and refinement. In this com-
fortable residenci . one of the handsomest in Centralia, Mr. and Mrs. Sprague
"at home" to their friends, and here they entertain all visitors
with cordial but 1 ttious hospitality.
LUCIUS R. MANNING.
>ne of the rep e business men of Tacoma and one who has been
inently identified with much of its financial and industrial activity is
Manning, the subjeel of this brief review. In both business "and
I circles Mr. Manning occupies an enviable position, and certainly de-
■ cognition in this volume.
g line of ancestors on bis paternal side, and the
iled in book form. His great-grandfather was a
n the Revolution" and participated in the battle of Bunker Hill. Gur-
ominent business man of Tioga county, New York.
on merchandising at Owego and later at
successful career he retired in [890, and came out to
; in [893. His wife. Sarah Adams, was a native of
New York, and died several years ago.
wen thi parents of Lucius 1L, who was born at
unty, New York. July 15. 1856. The family moved to
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 95
Waverly when lie was a young lad, and therefore he received most of his
education in that city. His business training was gained in his father's store.
Which he entered at an early age. He later began working in a bank, and
so rapidly did he learn that intricate business that he was soon promoted to
the position of cashier. By 18S5 he had acquired much ability as a business
man and banker, and he came to the northwest to begin banking in the wide
field that was there open to capital. In 1885 he and Charles P. Masterson,
of Elmira, New York, organized the Pacific National Bank of Tacoma, and
this is one of the very few banks established in those days which have sur-
vived the stormy seas of financial panics and are still riding on smooth and
"safe waters. Mr. Manning was made the vice-president and held some office
in the bank until 1898. when he resigned to devote all his attention to his
private financial enterprises, although he still retains some interest in that
institution. Mr. Manning and his partner, Robert G. Walker, have offices at
402-403-404 Equitable building, and do a thriving business as real estate and
investment brokers. In 1900 Mr. Manning, with Edward Cookingham and
his associates in the Pacific National Bank, organized a company and built
the Tacoma Eastern Railroad, which is now a valuable property. He is
interested in other corporations, and is the treasurer of the Tacoma and Roche
Harbor Lime Company, the most extensive manufacturers and wholesalers of
lime on the Pacific coast.
Notwithstanding his close attention to business, Mr. Manning is a lead-
ing member of the principal clubs and societies and of the Chamber of Com-
merce, and is well liked for his genial and pleasant manners. His marriage
took place at Columbia. Missouri, on October 10, 1888, when he became the
husband of Miss Lucy Bass. On August 18, 1894. a son was born to them,
who is the bearer of his father's name, Lucius.
LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO BANK, LIMITED.
In the days of barter and exchange, when men carried their produce
around until they came to some one who happened to possess the article he
was looking for and also a desire for the other man's goods, money was not
needed, and therefore the mediums through which it passed and was stored
for convenience of commerce, the bank, did not enter into the general scheme
of the world's institutions. But to-day banks and the banking system are
the means through which are transacted the complications of the world's trade,
and it is one of the most stable as well as the most important of the elements
of organized society. Some of these banking firms have become known to
men engaged in business the world over, and have been important factors in
financing many large enterprises, and it is of the branch of one of these that
this article has to speak, the London and San Francisco Bank, limited, at
Tacoma. Washington.
This bank was established at San Francisco the first day of January.
1864, and the American headquarters of the corporation are still in that city.
The first president was Milton S. Latham, who is now deceased, and was in
his day a very prominent California financier. It was mainly through his
influence with London capitalists that he was enabled to found this banking
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
establishment, with houses in both cities and having the best backing in Lon-
don and San Francisco. The present chairman of the board of directors in
ii is I !<in Goschen, brother of the distinguished English statesman of
that name, and the chairman of the board in San Francisco is N. D. Rideout,
an eminent man of that city.
i the growth and development of the bank branches were established
in different cities of the west, [n 1880 one was put in operation at Portland,
"ne at Tacoma in [890, and another in Seattle in February, 1901. The bank
at Tacoma is under the management of S. M. Jackson, whose connection with
the corporation .^ocs back twenty years. This bank is now located in the
'i building, corner of Thirteenth street and Pacific avenne, and its beauti-'
fnl quarters have heen elegantly fitted up in a modern style.
The bank's eastern correspondent is J. P. Morgan & Company. Al-
though it has unlimited hacking the management is very conservative, and the
field nf its influence is constantly growing. So closely has this institution
identified with the growth and business life of the west that it is looked
I hi to affection by many of the older residents, and there
doubt that its future is filled with promise of greater things than was
■ ' 1st.
HON. HENRY DRUM.
rhe name of I Ion. Henry Drum is inseparably interwoven with the
iv of Washington, and an enumeration of the men who have con-
ferred honor and dignity upon the state would be incomplete without definite
reference to the subject of this review. Now a leading business man of
Olympia, lie has served as mayor of the city of Tacoma, and was a mem-
I the state legislature during its first two sessions, at which time he
"I1";"'! Factor in framing the laws of the state and shaping the
destiny oi this now great commonwealth of which he is a most worthy
citizen.
Mr. Drum is a native of Illinois, horn in Macoupin county, November
21, [857, and is of German and Scotch-Irish ancestry. His grandfather,
Silas Drum, was born in tin tate of North Carolina and removed to Illinois
ii earl) settlement, locating upon a farm in Macoupin
county. There William Drum, the father of our subject, was born December
i;. 1831, and he spenl his entire life in his native county, becoming one of
merchants, lie married Miss Sarah McConaughey, a lady of
try, who died during the early childhood of'her son Henry,
the father contracted a second marriage. He was a prominent
member -1 the M Ei tternity and served as master of his lodo-e for
many years.
Drum was educated in the public schools of Illinois and in the
g Cl 1 in his native state for two
where he engaged in teaching for one year In
'"• U("' '" racoi hington, and became interested in manufactur-
me of the organizers of the Merchants National
City, lie served as its vice president and cashier and con-
THf
ffFty
^RfT
Lte%AK]
AST.
■nLDh
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 97
tinned his connection with the institution until 1893, having in the mean-
time also become interested in many other enterprises. He had become
recognized as a leader in the ranks of the Democracy, and upon its ticket was
elected mayor of the city. During his administration he instituted many
improvements, and the city made rapid progress along many lines of material
upbuilding. For three years he was the president of the school board of the
city, during which time a number of Tacoma's fine school buildings were
erected, and while serving as a park commissioner he labored effectively for
the city in that direction.
In 1889, the state having been admitted to the Union, he served as a
member of the first state senate, being the only Democrat in the upper house.
He served on the revenue, taxation and educational committees, and was
prominent in securing the passage of the special educational bill for the
cities of Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Spokane, which resulted in giving
these larger cities power to inaugurate the present school system, under
which they are enjoying superior educational facilities. His long business
experience eminently fitted him for usefulness in formulating the first state
legislation of the newly organized state. During ithree' different compaigns
he has been chairman of the Democratic state central committee, and has
rendered his party much valuable service. During President Cleveland's
second administration, in recognition of his value to the party, he was offered
the position of collector of customs but declined it ; after the great financial
panic of 1893, however, in which he was forced to sustain very heavy losses,
he accepted the deputy collectorship and acted in that capacity for two years.
At the close of this service he received a letter from the collector of customs
stating that he was the best posted collector in the state of 'Washington.
In 1898 Mr. Drum made a business trip to Alaska, and upon his return
established his office in Spokane. Soon after he was appointed a member
of the state board of control, and this necessitated his removal to Olympia,
the state capital, but upon the death of Governor Rogers the political com-
plexion of the board was changed and he resigned. In 1893-4 he received
from Governor Ferry the appointment of World's Fair Commissioner and
discharged his duties as a member of that commission in a manner highly
conducive to the best interests of the state. He was appointed by Governor
McGraw a member of the board of the state reform school, and in that work-
took much active interest, doing all in his power to forward the commend-
able aims of the institution. In recent years he has been actively engaged
in the handling of real estate in Olympia, also is engaged in the insurance
business, and is stockholder in large oyster bed enterprises, which are yield-
ing very satisfactory returns.
In 1884 Mr. Drum was married to Miss Jessie M. Thompson, a native
of Burlington, Wisconsin, and they have five children: William Howard,
Laura, Barbara B., Dorothy F. and Rachael. The parents are members of
the First Free church of Tacoma, and Mr. Drum is a York and Scottish Rite
Mason. In the field of political life and business activity lie has won dis-
tinction, and is numbered among the leading, influential and honored citizens
of Washington. In the front rank of the columns which have advanced the
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
civilization of the northwest he has marched; he has been a student of the
the times and of existing conditions, and with clarity of view he
has rward to the future and labored conscientiously and effectively
: vat ion and promotion of the best interests of Washington. He
has wielded and is wielding a wide influence in public affairs, and his abil-
both natural and acquired, make him a leader of men and molder of
public opinion.
HON. II ENRY PELEG BURDICK.
m constantly receiving new additions to its population from the
east,- in fact only a very small portion of its inhabitants can claim nativity
the prominent men who have recently made this the abiding
place of their home and fortunes is the Hon. Henry Peleg Burdick, a lawyer
oi much ability, who made his reputation as a man of business and political
affairs in the state of Wisconsin.
Ills father, Peleg, was born in New York state, removed to Pennsyl-
and in [854 came on to Wisconsin. His occupation was that of mill-
right and lumberman, and he died in Polk county, Wisconsin, in January,
111-- wife. Lucretia Stocking, who was also a native of New York
Mate, was killed in a terrible cyclone which, devastated that part of the state
September, 1884, and tore their home all to pieces.
The birth of Henry Peleg Burdick occurred in Warren county, Pennsyl-
'■'■ bi 1849. \t the age of five he came with his parents to Jefferson
nty. Wisconsin, two years later removed to St. Croix county, the same
here with tl ition -1 a brief period spent in Minnesota he lived
1 [877, when all the family went to Polk county. Henry attended the
publii of ill.- neighborhood, but when he was fifteen years old the war
ime too strong for him to resist, and in November, 1864, he enlisted
Paul in the first Minnesota Heavj Artillery, doing garrison duty at
a and receiving an honorable discharge in October, 1865. He
d continued to assist his father in his lumber and sawmill
and. as tlu- latter had considerable legal business to transact, it
Burdick that if he had the requisite knowledge of the pro-
mighl be- -1 material service to his father, and subsequently find a
d for himself. This was the way he became a lawyer. He
! the necessary books, and during all his spare time was to be found
11 w»a1 mighl have seemed to others very dry reading, which bore
in his admission to the bar in Polk county, Wisconsin, in Tanuary,
twent) iwo years he was one of the prominent practi-
inty, and during that time became known not only
1 the town but in the state as well. His record of public service
the time he was allowed to practice law. for in 1880 he entered
'in as a member of the board of county commissioners of
m 1884 to 1887. four years, he was district attorney for his
I m 1892 was elected a member of the state assembly, receiving a
I fere he performed a leading part, being on 'the important
tee ->nd chairman of the judiciary committee. In the last
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 09
session, during the sickness of the speaker, George D. Burrows, he was made
speaker pro tern. For seven or eight years the citizens of Osceola kept him
in the office of president of the village, he was president of the school board
for ten years, and was chairman of a board of special commissioners appointed
to supervise the construction of the fifty thousand dollar courthouse for Polk
county.
By his constant application to business Mr. Burdick had impaired his
health, and this led him in the spring of 1902 to come with his family to
Tacoma. On May 1 he opened his office in the Fidelity building and has
since been establishing: himself in the esteem of the business circles of the
...
city, so that he already enjoys a fair practice; his specialty is corporation law.
He has not given up his interest in political matters, and in the campaign of
1902 made several effective speeches for Republican candidates. He is fra-
ternally connected with the Grand Army of the Republic, and with the Masons
and the Maccabees. He was married' on February 14, 1876, in St. Croix
county, Wisconsin, to Miss Angelia Gould, a native of Maine, and the four
children who have been born to them bear the names : Lucile M., Marchia L.,
Harold Peleg; and Thelma Ruth.
"S
SIDNEY G. CRANDALL.
A glance at the history of past centuries will indicate at once what would
be the condition of the world if the mining interests no longer had a part in
the industrial and commercial life. Only a few centuries ago agriculture was
almost the only occupation of man. A landed proprietor surrounded himself
with his tenants and his serfs, who tilled his broad fields, while he reaped the
reward of their labors ; but when the rich mineral resources of the world were
placed upon the market industry found its way into new and broader fields.
minerals were used in the production of hundreds of inventions, and the
business of nations was revolutionized. When considering those facts wo
can in a measure determine the value to mankind of the mining interests.
One who is connected with the rich mineral resources of the northwest is
Mr. Crandall, now the president of the Cascade Copper Company of Tan una.
A native of Binghamton, Broome county. New York, he was born in the
year 1851, and is a son of Welch and Mary (Smith) Crandall. The father
was a farmer in early life. He was born in Connecticut, but came of an old
Rhode Island family, the Crandall ancestry being traced back in that state for
two hundred and fifty years. When a young man Welch Crandall removed
from New England to Chenango county, Xew York, settling upon a farm
where he reared his family. In 185 1, attracted by the discovery of gold in
California, he made an overland trip to that state and was engaged in mining
there for a while. He spent the last days of his life in Binghamton, where he
died several years ago. His wife is also deceased.
Sidney G. Crandall obtained a good education, which he completed in
the Binghamton high school, and at the age of twenty years started out in
life on his own account, going to Milwaukee. There he found a g 1 position
as traveling salesman for a wholesale house, his territory being the Lake
Superior country. Later he traveled from the same city, representing the
>A 59
100 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Milwaukee Lithographing Company. In 1876, however, he again started
westward and this time located in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he began busi-
ness ^n his own account, lie-coming- a prominent real estate and financial agent
there. It was in that city that he first became interested in the banking busi-
nting in Lincoln the New York banking firm of Austin Corbin
m. In [880 he removed to Grand Junction, Colorado, where he also
engaged in hanking as the representative of the Corbin house, and he erected
the first frame building in ('.rand Junction. To the development and im-
emenl of that portion of the state he contributed largely by his able
efforts, and was \er\ prominent in public affairs, serving at one time as treas-
urer of Mesa county. In 1883 Air. Crandall left Colorado, and after visiting
Portland and other points in Oregon and in Washington he located at Pome-
''in, engaging in the banking business as a representative of the
firm of Austin Corbin & Son. In [888 he removed to Tacoma, where be has
ed, a prominent business man of this city. From that year until
1893 he was engaged in the wholesale grocery business as a member of the
firm of Ree e, I randall & Redman, owners of one of the largest wholesale
limenl al that time.
In (893, r, Air. Crandall retired from mercantile life and became
in mining, with which branch of industrial activity he is now promi-
nenth identified, and he has been an active figure in developing the great gold
I interests of tin- northwestern coast, and is the president of
the < per Company, which owns and is developing rich and valu-
able copper and gold mines in the Cascade mountains. He is also the presi-
ded "I the !•• ■ Mining Company, owning a gold property, and is finan-
cially interested in mines in Montana and other places. He is considered an
authority on mining questions, and his investments have been judiciously
s now reaping a good financial reward for his labor. His
; in the National Bank of Commerce building, and from
this |wiint in- controls his various properties.
fn O 1 indall was united in marriage to Aliss Mary Kelsey,
and they now hav< I m 'liter, Ruth, who is residing with them at their
lence al 8] 1 South Tenth street. This home is the abode of
al functions are greatly enjoyed by the friends
family. Through almost fifteen years Air. 'Crandall has resided in
and is well known as ., pi inent and successful business man. His
direct n ird "I" his own labors, and results not a little from
abilitj to quickly recognize and improve an opportunity. He stands to-
man, strong in his honor and his good name, and in the
history of the Pugel Sound country he well deserves mention.
M \RSII \l.l. KING SNELL.
I King Snell, an attornej of Tacoma, was born in Ottumwa,
nd is a son of Dr. John Marshall King, having
arna.me from foster parents. His father was born in Fau-
1 descendant on th< maternal side of Chief
■ I nited States supreme court. Dr. King, having
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 101
located at Ottumwa, Iowa, at the outbreak of the Civil war, enlisted as a
surgeon in the Union army, and served until injured, when he returned to his
home on the ist of November, 1864, and died on the 3rd of the same month.
The tragic chapter which witnessed the complete orphaning of the subject of
this sketch was closed when, during the same month, his mother, sister and
brother died from an epidemic of smallpox, leaving him the sole survivor of
the family.
He was taken to the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home, then located at
Farmington, from which he was taken and adopted when seven years of age
by William J. Snell and wife, of Primrose, Iowa. Soon afterwards he removed
with his foster parents to Wisconsin, locating on a farm near Trempealeau,
where his boyhood days were spent in farm work and in attendance at the
district school in winter. At the age of fourteen his ambition reached beyond
the narrow environment of his adopted home, and he left the farm to make
his own way in the world. At eighteen he taught school, and devoted his
evenings to the study of law. Finally, with money accumulated by work
on farm, winter teaming and teaching, he was enabled to enter the Madison
State University, Wisconsin, and graduated from the law department. He
first located at Seymour, Wisconsin, and practiced law there until March, 1888,
when he removed to Tacoma, Washington, where he has ever since continued
in the active practice of his profession, his distinguishing qualities being
energy, aggressiveness and precision, which have given him success as a trial
lawyer. Though of late years making somewhat of a specialty of corporation
law, he has had unusual success in the defense of criminal cases. He has a
large law library, and has for thirteen years occupied the same fine suite of
law offices in the Equitable building. He is well known as a sportsman ; and
is a member of the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce, one of the hoard of
curators of the Washington State Historical Society, and is associated with
many public enterprises and undertakings.
Coming to Washington ere the days of statehood, and casting in his
fortunes with the city of Tacoma, Mr. Snell has prospered financially, and is
the owner of considerable real estate, and has his home fronting the beautiful
Wright park. His wife was formerly Bertha M. Denton, a cousin of the
gallant Colonel Elmer Ellsworth of the Zouaves, and she is associated with
him in the practice of law, being the first woman to actively engage in the
practice of that profession in the state. Marshall K. Snell has one son, William
Arthur Snell, by a former marriage.
FRANK S. BLATTNER.
Frank S. Blattner is actively connected with a profession which has im-
portant bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section or com-
munity, and one which has long been considered as conserving the public
welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights.
His reputation as a lawyer has been won through earnest, hones! labor, and
bis standing at the bar is a merited tribute to his ability. He now has a very
large practice, and his careful preparation of cases is supplemented by a power
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
of argumenl and forceful presentation of his points in the courtroom, so that
lie never fail t impress court or jury and seldom fails to gain the verdict
desired.
Mr. Blattner is a native of Auburn, De Kalb county, Indiana, born in
[867, a son of E. R. and Margaret (Rhodenbaugh) Blattner. The father was
born in Philadelphia, and about i860 removed to Indiana, living at Auburn
until [892, when he came to Tacoma, where he now makes his home. During
reater part of his business career he was a commercial traveler. His
wife is a native of Stark county, Ohio.
Having acquired a good education in the public school, Frank S. Blattner
studied shorthand and became an expert stenographer, and from the time he
M until he attained his majority he was official court stenographer
for the thirty-fifth judicial circuit of Indiana, embracing the northeastern part
of the state. 1 Ih attention being thus called to the law, he resolved to become
a member of the bar, and having studied for some time, he was admitted to
ar at Auburn, tndiana, in 1888, after which he became a partner of the
Hon, \\ . L. Penfield, who is now solicitor for the department of state and
has represented the United States in some important international disputes
the Hague conference, and is a distinguished lawyer.
After practicing law at Auburn for two years Mr. Blattner came to
ma, and for the first two months after his arrival was employed as a
i.i|i1ht in a law office, and then, resuming practice, became associated,
at different times, with partners of well known ability and reputation, includ-
ing \V. II. Doolittle, B. S. Grosscup, D. K. Stevens and others. For the past
few years he has practiced alone, and the litigation with which he has been
ted has been of an important character, involving large interests and
calling for marked ability and broad legal learning.
At Auburn, in [889, Mr. Blattner was united in marriage to Miss Dora
I le 1- 11 ■ ly known in this city, for his social qualities have made
skill and legal ability have gained him prominence in
bis profession. He 1- a student, earnest and discriminating, and this stands
if the strong elements in his advancement at the bar.
HON. GEORGE C. BRITTON.
Whatev< aj be said of the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied
that members of the bai have been more prominent actors in public affairs
thi community. This is but the natural result of
manifest and require no explanation. The ability and train-
> which qualify one to practice law. also qualify him in many respects for
duties which lie outside the strict path of Ins profession and which touch the
""en ■ iety. I folding marked precedence among the members
oi the bai of Tacoma is the Hon. George C. Britton, who for several years
ictised here with constantl) growing success and has also been promi-
in public affairs.
Mr. Britton was born near Tipton in Cedar county, Iowa, and is the son
of Thomas II. and Frances (1 1 ford) Britton, both of whom are now
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 103
deceased. At an early day his father removed from Virginia to Iowa, and his
mother removed there from the state of Indiana when a child with her father.
Upon their marriage they commenced life upon a farm in the state of Iowa,
where upon the old homestead George C. Britton was reared. His literary
education was completed in the Northern Indiana Normal Collage at Val-
paraiso, Indiana, where he was a student in the scholastic year of 1877-8.
Subsequently he took up the study of law in the law department of the State
University at Iowa City, where he was graduated in the class of 1881. He
early displayed the elemental strength of his character in the methods by which
he acquired his education. In order to secure advanced mental training he
engaged in teaching school, thus winning the funds which enabled him to
continue his own studies. He was admitted to the bar in Iowa City, Iowa,
the 21st day of June, 1881, and practiced in Tipton, Iowa, for a year, after
which he removed to Northville, Spink county, South Dakota, where he suc-
cessfully practiced law for a number of years. He was also prominent in
public affairs there, and served as a member of the constitutional convention
which framed the organic law for the new state upon the division of the ter-
ritory into North and South Dakota. In February, 1889, Mr. Britton located
in Tacoma, where he has since engaged in practice.
His legislative career is equally noticeable with his service as a repre-
sentative of the legal profession. In 1900 he was elected a member of the
seventh general assembly of Washington, representing Pierce county. The
most important work which he undertook in that session was the preparation
and introduction of house bill No. 28, "An act to establish a code of probate
law and procedure." This bill passed the house without a dissenting vote, but
on account of the large amount of business before the senate that body was
not able to act upon the measure before the adjournment of the legislature,
although it was a measure that met with general indorsement.
In April, 1901, he was elected a member of the city council of Tacoma
from the fifth ward and takes a very active part in the work of that bod}-.
This election came to him entirely unsought. He is now serving as chairman
of the judiciary committee and is a member of the committee on finance, of
the light and water committee and the salaries committee, and is exercising
his official prerogatives in support of every movement calculated to advance
reform and improvement in the city.
While residing in Dakota Mr. Britton was united in marriage to Miss
Clara A. Wheeler, who was to him a loved companion and helpmate on life's
journey until 1894, when she was called to her final rest, leaving two daugh-
ters. Jasmine and Helen. The family home is at 4608 South J street, and Mr.
Britton maintains his law office at 408-9 Berlin building. His law practice
is of a general nature, although he makes somewhat of a specialty of probate
matters. Admitted to the bar, he at once entered upon the practice and from
the beginning has been unusually prosperous in every respect. The success
which he has attained has been due to his own efforts and merits. The pos-
session of advantages is no guarantee nor can it be secured without integrity,
ability and industry. These qualities he possesses to an eminent degree and
is faithful to every interest committed to his charge. Throughout his whole
life, whatsoever his hand finds to do, whether in his profession or in his official
104 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
duties, or in any other sphere, he does with all his might and with a deep
se of conscientious obligation.
EDWARD MEATH.
Edward Meath is one of the numerous young men of Tacoma who have
taken the management of affairs largely into their hands, and to the restless
spirit and energy of these is due much of the phenomenal development of this
busy western city, fur some years he has been identified with a large firm of
ently has entered the field of public service, where he
shows marked ability. His father was Richard G. Meath, who was born
in the provino ! rio, Canada, but when a young man came to the United
ik up his residence at Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He became one of
mi rch ml-, of that place, and was also engaged in the operation
lumber mill, [lis experience in the latter capacity induced him in 1876
["acoma and take charge of the old Tacoma mill; he made this
ey by rail to San Francisco and from there to Portland by the water
route, lie was thus one of the early settlers of the place, and has been here
ever since, lie was al our tune a town trustee and later a city councilman.
lie is not now actively engaged in business, and has his home at the little
eight miles south of Tacoma called Larchmont. His wife was Margaret
Miller, a native of Canada, and she died in Tacoma.
Edward .Meath was bom to these parents at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in
1871. As he came to Tacoma with the remainder of the family in 1877, his
boyhood was passed in the eager scenes of a booming town of the coast, and
he retains a clear memory of the development of the city from its incipient
up to its pi I 1 ismopolitan aspect. However, as the town-fathers
provided well i< r education, young Meath did not lack for a good mental
train ter li chool he accepted a position with the Fidelity Security
t Company, which had just been organized, and his interest has been
ied in this compa nice, with the exception that for the two years,
1895 ''''■ wnen tne h;inl times still grappled the throat of business, he held
in the county treasurer's office. Starting in as a
inn he made himself so useful that he now occupies the place of
' I01 experience and ability have made him an
expert in the abstract busir
In loo' Mr. Meath received the Republican nomination for the office
"I" l'i and was elected by a large majority, and this
his ability as a man who was only thirty years old.
,n f' | the Red Men and is president of the
icoma. In [896 he was married in Tacoma to Miss
lith Moorman, and their 1 ince been mad. happy by the advent of
children, j rman and Dorothy Gertrude.
JOIIX ('. RATHBUN.
John (' Rathbun was born in New Haven. Connecticut, December 19,
When at the aj his parents removed to Buffalo county^
JOHN C. RATHBUH.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. LENOX
T1LDBN FOUND-*:
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 105
Wisconsin, where he grew to manhood on a farm. In the fall of 1872 he
entered the State University of Wisconsin and graduated in the scientific
department in June, 1877. In November of the same year he was elected
county school superintendent of Buffalo county, and was re-elected in 1879.
In 1882 he purchased the Buffalo County Herald at Mondovi, Wisconsin,
which he published until 1885, when he removed to Midland, Texas, where
he published the Staked Plain and practiced law until 1889. In that year he
removed to Olympia, Washington, and engaged in newspaper work. He was
justice of the peace and judge of the police court of Olympia from 1891 to
1895. He was member of the board of school directors of Olympia for six
years, and president of the board in 1893 and again in 1897. During these
years he published newspapers and practiced law, and also wrote a history
of Thurston county, Washington. In the latter year he became connected
with the Seattle Times as editorial writer. In 1902 he engaged in mining.
In June) 1878, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Goldenberger, of Mad-
ison, Wisconsin. His family consists of three sons, Chauncey B., John
Charles and Vilas B.
WILLIAM H WAPLES.
William H. Waples, owner of the Lynden Department Store of Lynden,
Washington, was born at Milford, Delaware, in 1X75. His parents are Magnus
and Anna E. (Robinson) Waples, the former of whom was born in Dela-
ware, but in 1880 removed with his family to Chicago and made that city his
home until 1888. In 1889 he located in Washington, settling at Montesano
in Chehalis count}', and lived there until 1896, when he removed to What-
com, where he still resides. The Waples have a long and somewhat noted
ancestry on the paternal side. It was founded in this country by Peter
Waples, an Englishman, in 1698, he having obtained a grant to some land
from the King, on the Indian river in Delaware. The great-great-grand-
father, Joseph Waples, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and other
members were equally prominent.
William II. Waples was educated in the schools of Chicago and later
attended school in Washington. From his first business venture, he has
been in a mercantile line. After clerking for a few years, he decided to go
into business for himself, and in 1897, with less than one hundred dollars,
he came to Lynden and established a store. His success shows what enter-
prise and ability were possessed by this young man. The business house
known as the Lynden Department Store is one of the show places of the
town. Everything is sold here used in a home, farm or ranch, including dry-
goods, clothing, shoes, furnishings, hardware, groceries, farm and mill ma-
chinery, vehicles, etc., and employment is constantly furnished twelve people.
In addition to this enterprise Mr. Waples owns the Lynden livery stables, and
is now building near town a shingle mill with a capacity of from seventy-five
to one hundred and fifty thousand shingles a day. He also owns a large tract
of timber land, and is certainly one of the most prosperous men of the locality.
In 1900 Mr. Waples was married at Whatcom to Miss Arvilla Cissna,
L06 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
He is a Mason and a member of the Commercial Club. In his social and
fraternal relations be is as energetic and popular as be is in business life, and
considering bis success that is saying a good deal.
HERMAN HOFERCAMP.
Few are the residents of Whatcom who can claim as long connection with
the city as can Herman Hofercamp, for since 1867 he has resided here and
been identified with pioneer development as well as later-day progress and
advancement. He is now conducting the store of the Bellingham Bay &
British Columbia Railroad Company, a position which he has occupied for
time, lie is among the worthy citizens that the fatherland has furnished
to tin- northwest, bis birth having occurred in Germany, on the 28th of Decem-
[835. I lis parents. George and Wilhelmina Hofercamp, were also born
in that country, and in the year 1870 they came to the United States, settling
in St. Louis, Missouri, where both died. Their daughter, Anna, died in
Germany, and their son had preceded them to the new world.
1 [erman I [ofercamp was educated in the schools of Hanover, continuing
tudies until sixteen years of age, when he began clerking in a grocery
I [earing much of the opportunities afforded to young men in the new
world, be decided to try bis fortune in this country, and in 185 1 bade adieu
ti home, friends and fatherland. He crossed the Atlantic in a sailing vessel
which dropped anchor in the harbor of New Orleans, and thence be proceeded
northward, going first to St. bonis and afterward to Cincinnati. Ohio. In
[856 be went to California, making the journey by way of the Isthmus of
Panama to San Francisco, where he was employed as a salesman in a general
For ten yeai I >ii the expiration of that decade he came direct to What-
c where he arrived in [867. The place at that time, however, was called
Sehome. Mr. I [ofercamp accepted the position of storekeeper with the Belling-
ham Bay Coal Company, with which he remained until 1875, when he left
that companj and took up a homestead, on which be lived for seven years,
cultivating the land and improving the property.
In [88] he returned to Whatcom and again become storekeeper for the
same company. I le was also postmaster of Sehome. In 1887 aIter closing out
the stock for that company he was appointed postmaster and gave his entire
ittention to the administration oi the duties of the office until 1891, when he
1 'tin ncd to the company, which in the meantime had been merged into the
Bellingham Bay & British Columbia Railroad Company. He has continuously
served as storekeeper from [89] to the present. He has bad long experience
in this position, and his services give entire satisfaction to those whom he
represents.
1 '" the 10th of Apnl. [860, Mr. Hofercamp was united in marriage t.
Miss Jane Cecelia Francis, a native of Springfield, Illinois, who died in 1900,
leaving three sons and two daughters: Francis, Cecelia, Hulda, Edward and
Charli l he eli 1 ecelia, is the wife of Wadell Connell and is
living in Whatcom Mr, I [ofercamp votes with the Republican party, to which
he has given his support since becoming an American citizen.
o
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 107
JOHN J. LARSON.
John J. Larson, a prominent and successful business citizen of What-
com, owning and operating the finest livery line in this city, was born in
Yoss, Norway, January 27, 1864. He is a son of Lars and lngeborg (Ma-
ringa) Larson, the former of whom was born in 1817 and is a resident of
Graue, Norway, where he was engaged in farming and logging. The mother
is also a native and resident of Norway. Our subject has three brothers and
two half-brothers, two half-sisters and two sisters : Anders, aged fifty-four
years; Lars, aged fifty-two years; Neils, aged forty-three years; William B.,
of Whatcom ; Mrs. Anna Heigeson, of Britt, Iowa ; Bertha, of Wisconsin ;
Mrs. Sarah Larkin, of Chicago ; and Mrs. Belle Olson, of Seattle.
John J. Larson attended school in his native country until the age of six-
teen years and then worked on a farm for two years. He then took advantage
of an opportunity to come to the United States, and landed in the city of
New York, October 10, 188 1. As he was a farmer by occupation, he started
for the farm lands of the west, reaching Woodstock, Illinois, and in that
locality he remained for five years. He then went to Minneapolis and worked
there for three years in a mill, and it was in 1888 that he came to Whatcom,
looking about for a suitable place for permanent settlement. He was soon
employed by the Bellingham Bay Railroad Company, and continued with that
company for eight years in the capacity of coachman and stableman, thus
gaining a practical knowledge of a business in which he has been very success-
ful. Mr. Larson took care of his money and later invested it in a small livery
business at 1375 Elk street, and continued at that location until he moved into
stables which he had erected on the corner of Elk and Magnolia streets. The
building is a convenient and commodious one, a three-story brick structure.
with the first floor taken up with offices, harness room, rigs ; the second floor
with stabling, with a capacity of eighty-six head of horses. The size of this
modern and well appointed building is fifty-five by one hundred and twenty-
five feet, and cost Mr. Larson eighteen thousand dollars. He has now a fine
equipment, including sixty-six head of stock, and all kinds of carriages and
hacks, and he also conducts a general transfer and hauling business. This he
has acquired since August, 1896, when he owned but two head of horses and
two single buggies.
On October 1, 1892, Mr. Larson married Sophie Peterson, who was horn
in Sweden, and two children have been born to them : Ruth, aged seven years ;
and Elvin, aged three years. Mr. and Mrs. Larson belong to the Lutheran
church. In politics he is a Republican. He is an active member of these
secret organizations : the Odd Fellows, the Maccabees, the Woodmen of
America, the Eagles, the Elks, Rebekah lodge of the order of Odd Fellows
and Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Larson is one of the city's most progressive business men. He
has built up his own business by energy and industry, and is interested in all
the movements looking to making Whatcom one of the great commercial
centers of the western coast.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
ABRAHAM L. WALTERS.
Abraham L. Wallers, superintendent of streets, sewers and parks, Seattle,
Washington, was born October 3, 1861, in Muskingum county, near Zanes-
ville, Ohio. The Wallers family were Pennsylvania Dutch. They made
settlement in this country previous to the Revolutionary period, and were
represented in that war and also in the war of 1812. William Walters, the
father of Abraham L., was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, and was a
farmer in thai county for a number of years. He died in 1881. During the
war he enlisted for service in the Union army, but was refused admittance
to the ranks on account of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary J.
Oatley, was a native of the same county in which lie was born. Her father
was born in this country, of Welsh descent, and he was at one time sheriff of
Muskingum county. William Walters and his wife had two sons and six
daughters, the daughters being: Miss Manuella C. Walters, a teacher in the
publii of Denver, Colorado; Mary Ida, wife of Milton Sperry, pn>
; languages, New Salem, Ohio; Anna Belle, wife of Gustave Steinke,
a wheat grower of Walla Walla. Washington; and Laura Brown, Elizabeth,
and .Martha Olive, deceased. One son, James G, died February 10, 1887.
Abraham L. Walters was educated in the common and high schools of
erset, Ohio, finishing his studies there in 1878, and that year going to
where he engaged in mining on Frying Pan river, and at Canyon
City and Colorado Springs. He remained in Colorado until August, 1888,
he came to Seattle and clerked for James Park, the contractor for the
Central and South schools. After two years spent with Mr. Park, he was
ed in the n al e tate business two years. In 1895 he went to work under
Mayor Byron Phelps, as foreman of the street department, and continued
thus occupied until December 10, 1902, when he was appointed street com-
ssioner by Mayor T. J. Humes, which makes him a member of the board
ublic works.
Mr. Walters was married February 6. 1896, to Clara A. Smith, a native
of Minnesota, and a daughter of !'.. F. Smith, a carpenter of Seattle, Washi-
ngton. £ her ancestors also fought in the Revolutionary war and
the war <>f [812, and her maternal grandfather, Rev. E. R. Pinney, was prom-
inently associated with Horace Greeley, Henry Ward Beecher and others in
the a ment. She is of French and English descent. Mr. and
Mis. Walters ha • m, Frank Oatley Walters, who was born October
Fraternally, Mr. Walters is a member of the Independent Order of
NOAH B. COFFMAN.
Fhe Coffman, D ib on and Company Bank at Chehalis, Washington, of
which Mr. pre ident and manager, is one of the leading finan-
Stitutions of Lewis county and was first organized on August it. 1884.
' bank under the name of Coffman and Allen, Charles H.
Allen being the other partner; at the hitter's death Mr. Coffman conducted
lli ne for a time, and in [889 it was organized as the First Na-
"•ll Bank> •Nlr- l offman, John Dobson, Francis Donahoe, W. M. Uquhart
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 109
and D. C. Millett being the principal holders of the fifty thousand dollars'
stock. In 1896 the national bank charter was dropped, and since then it
has been conducted as a private bank under the same stockholders, who are
men of unquestioned financial reliability. The bank does a general bank-
ing business and is the oldest and largest bank in southwestern Washington,
this success being due in a large measure to Mr. Coffman's liberal methods
and able financiering; the institution has been of much service to the business
of Lewis county and is a credit to its worthy and respected stockholders.
Noah B. Coffman is of good German ancestry, who took up their abode
in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, at a very early day in the history of the
country. His father, Noah B. Coffman, was a native of Virginia and mar-
ried Miss Margaret Wimp, who was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.
In 1858 they removed to Champaign county, Illinois, and there was spent the
major portion of their lives; late in life he retired from active business and
came to Washington to spend hib declining years with his children, where
he passed away, honored and revered, at the age of eighty-three, in 1899. He
was one of the organizers of the Republican party, and was numbered among
the liberty-loving citizens who have done so much to make the prosperity of
the country. His good wife still survives him and resides in Chehalis. Their
four living sons are all in business in this city. Their eldest son, William
Henry Harrison, offered his services in the defense of the Union and lost his
life in the Missouri campaign; he was a member of the Tenth Illinois Cavalry.
The birth of Noah B. Coffman occurred at Crawfordsville. Indiana, on
the 2d day of April, 1857. He graduated from the University of Illinois in
the class of 1878, and on reaching man's estate came west to cast in his
lot with the growing state of Washington, where he has since made excellent
use of the opportunities offered him. In 1883, m the month of October, he
married Miss Adaline Tighe, who was born in Cuba but was reared and
educated in Boston. They have become the parents of two daughters and
a son : Florence Adaline, Ethelin M. and Daniel Tighe ; the daughters are
graduates of the high school and are now in college. The family are mem-
bers of the Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Coffman is the clerk of the vestry;
for some years he has been treasurer of the Episcopal jurisdiction of western
Washington and was thrice elected a delegate to the church conventions of the
United States. He also holds membership in the Masonic fraternity. Mr.
Coffman takes an active part in the affairs of the Republican party ami served
as a delegate to the national convention which nominated Mr. McKinley for
the presidency, also being a member of the committee appointed to notify Mr.
McKinley of his election.
JOHN WEST.
The native sons of Lewis county who are approaching the period of
middle age are not very numerous, for the county is still young, and the
greater part of its population is made up of men who have come from the
east, seeking a share in the boundless opportunities here afforded to the enter-
prising and energetic. But we have an exception in the case of John West,
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
s grown up in Lewis county and lias become one of the successful
business men of the city of Chehalis.
His lather was William West and was a native born Englishman, his
in [837. After he had reached manhood he came to the
United Si ti . nd in [854 settled in Illinois. He was married there, and
afterward he and his wife and their first born set out for the west with
ule team. They took up their residence in Lewis county, and he has been
inenl farmer all his life. He is a member of the Episcopal church,
and as the candidate of the Democratic party has been elected and has served
two terms as treasurer of the county, and also as auditor. His first wife was
Miss Hannah Dobson, a native of the state of Illinois. The girl, Dora, who
with them across the plains, is now deceased, and the five children
born i" them while in Washington are as follows: Robert, who died in his
twenty first year; John was next in order of birth; Henry is a resident of
( 'hchalis and the owner of the electric light plant ; Thomas died in his sixteenth
year; and William resides in Chehalis. The mother of these children died in
1875, and Mr. West chose for his second wife Hattie Scammond, a native of
Maine, and the one daughter born to her has been named Hattie.
John Wesl was born on his father's farm in this county, on June 24,
The educational facilities of the country at that time were nothing
remarkable, and consequently John got more training from the school of
rience than from the house of learning, which he attended at irregular
intervals. I Hit in spite of these hindrances he has become a well informed
man and has made a creditable record in business circles. The beeinnings of
his mercantile career were rather humble, for his first venture on his own
account was a small candy store. But he was progressive, his enterprise flour-
ished, and in [894 he opened his large flour, feed, produce and grocery estab-
■ nt. lie has a double store, one twenty-four by one hundred feet and the
other twenty-four by fifty, and he has an extensive trade and enjoys the con-
; the peopk
Mr. West is a Democrat and at the present time is serving his third term
11 the city council. He was married on September 17. 1893, to Miss Emma
hire, a native of [llinois, and her father. Israel Burkshire, is of English
Mr. and Mrs. West reside in a nice home in Chehalis and are much
med in social circles.
Wll I I \.\i I. A SALLE.
ham La Salle is the capable superintendent of the Chehalis Fir Door
. and also a stockholder and one of the organizers. The organization
completed on Februar) 15, [902, and it has an entirely
1 PJai ' ped with modern machinery and everything necessary to its
The mill ghty by one hundred and fifty feet, the dry kiln is
ighty, the Mean, kiln forty by twent) six, and the warehouse twentv-
- ighl The grounds have an excellent location and
facihti d, and the demand for the fir doors is con-
"'>• u,i I < Rush is the president of the firm ; E \ Frost is vice
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. Ill
president; Joe A. Gabel, now the state librarian, is secretary; Dr. J. T. Cole-
man is treasurer; and Mr. La Salle is superintendent. All are gentlemen
of means and reliability, and the success of the Chehalis Fir Door Company
is assured, and it cannot but prove of great benefit to the owners and to the
city.
The La Salle family orginated in France, and some of its members came
to America prior to the Revolution. Great-grandfather La Salle was a sol-
dier on the side of the colonies in that war. His son, John P., was born in
Vermont in 1801, and during the greater part of the ninety-one years of his
life was actively engaged in tilling the soil, passing away in 1892. His son
William was also a native of Vermont, and after his marriage removed to
Wisconsin, but when the Civil war broke out he enlisted and served through-
out the struggle as second lieutenant of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry. At the
close of the war he went west, but soon afterward died, leaving his widow
and only son alone in the world. This estimable lady still survives in her
fifty-eighth year, and makes her home in Portland, Oregon ; her maiden name
was Frances La Salle, and she was a second cousin of her husband.
William La Salle was the only son mentioned above, and his birth oc-
curred in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on November 26, 1856. He received his edu-
cation in the high school at Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and in the Spencerian
Business College at Milwaukee. He followed the inclination which he had
had from youth and learned the carpenter's trade, and for eight years fol-
lowed the pursuit of contractor and builder in Wausau, Wisconsin ; many of
the best buildings in that city are the products of his skill. But, being attracted
by the possibilities of the west, he came to Seattle on the first day of April,
1889. He first accepted the position of superintendent of a large lumber com-
pany, later held the superintendency of the concern of Wheeler, Osgood &
Company, at Tacoma, for eight years, then spent a short time in Portland,
Oregon, after which he came to Chehalis and brought about the organization
of his present firm.
The marriage of Mr. La Salle took place in 1882, when Miss Marion
Moss became his wife; she is a native of Massachusetts, and her father, Ed-
ward Moss, was a native of England. Their one son, Guy E., has almost
reached manhood. Mr. and Mrs. La Salle attend the Presbyterian Church,
while he is a good Republican and a member of the Masonic fraternity. He
is a practical mechanic, and it is owing to this faculty that he has made a
success of his life work, and he now enjoys the esteem of the business and
social circles of Chehalis.
ARTHUR CHARLES ST. JOHN.
Arthur Charles St. John has served two terms as county treasurer of
Lewis county and is a member of the firm of Frank Everett & Company,
which is the largest and most complete hardware establishment in the county.
Chehalis is not an old town, as that term is used of a place in the east, but
the enterprise and pioneer spirit of its inhabitants have caused to spring up
within its limits business houses which have had a growth and prosperity
Hi' HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
almost phenomenal and unknown in the east. Such is true of this firm, which
has a large store and warehouse and carries an immense stock of heavy and
i all descriptions, farm implements, and also a line of fur-
niture. Mr. Everett is also the president of the Chehalis Furniture Manufac-
turing Company, and there is a branch of this concern in the store.
The French ancestors of Mr. St. John settled in this country about the
time of the Revolution, and his father. Charles Oscar, was horn in Ohio in
I [e has -pent his life in farming and merchandising and has resided in
differenl parts of the country. He came to Chehalis in 1884 and settled on
his present fine farm of tour hundred acres, where he has been engaged on an
exten le in raising Durham cattle and a high standard of horses; his
• situated on the Chehalis river, and is in many ways a model of its
lie has always been Republican in his political sympathies, but has
never ii d office, and he is a good Presbyterian. He married Mary E.
Aldrich, who was born in Ohio; she died in 1S96 at the age of fifty-seven,
and four children were born to her: Mrs. J. E. Stearns, residing in Lewis
county; Mrs. David Urquhart, of Chehalis; and Miss Gertrude, at home.
Arthur Charles St. John is the second of this family in order of birth,
and was born in Monterey county. California, October 9, 1869. He was
educated in the school- of Lewis county and of his native state, and later in
the Collegiate Institute at Olympia. His business career began when he
osition as a clerk in the land office in Olympia, and then for seven
years he was employed as assistant cashier in the bank in Chehalis. He has
been a popular member of the Republican party, and in 1898 was elected
treasurer of Lewis county, and again in 1900. He purchased his interest
in the above mentioned company on January 1, 1902, and while Mr. Everett
1 charge of the furniture manufactory, he will manage the hardware
Mr. St. John was married in September, 1892, to Miss Laura B. Marr.
who 1- ,-i native of the state of Kansas, and whose father, Robert Marr, is
1 leading druggist oi Olympia. They are earnest members of the Presby-
I hurch, and he enjoys the social connections of the Ancient Order of
ed Workmen. The wesl abounds in wide-awake, vigorous young men,
who are making fortunes from the great possibilities of the new country, and
t the same time are assisting in the development of what will at some day
onderful country in the world, and Mr. St. John may well be
1 ami bold workers of the west.
SAMUEL II. NICHOLS.
Li the ni of the great west, which have only recently been
•ht forth from the primeval wilderness, success depends entirely upon
nd industry, and among those who have risen to prominence and
me through these 1 are now enjoying the fruits of their long and
ful can tar) of the state of Washington. j3ack
country the English ancestors of Mr. Nichols
bout th< year [632, and history records that his
IT1LI). * A;ND
ONsI
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 113
great-grandfather, John Nichols, fought in the Revolutionary war. Lemuel
Nichols, the father of our present subject, was born in Maiden, Massachu-
setts, and there married Miss Lucy Lee Fesendon, of Lexington, Massachu-
setts, who came from an equally old American family, some of whose mem-
bers also participated in the war for independence. Lemuel Nichols was
for many years a sea captain. In 1855 he retired from the dangers and
toils of the sea and removed to Minnesota, where with his two sons he
cultivated and improved a large farm, the sons, George L. and Samuel H.,
carrying on the business of the farm and engaging principally in stock-
raising.
Samuel H. Nichols, a son of Lemuel and Lucy (Fesendon) Nichols,
was born in Maiden, Massachusetts, in the year 1835, and. as recorded
above, removed with his father to Minnesota and assisted in running the
farm. Mr. Nichols' first vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln, and he has
since been a very active Republican. At the time of the Indian outbreak
and massacre of the settlers he was appointed, by. Governor Ramsey of Minne-
sota, captain of a militia company, and at the* head of his company he took
an active part in the suppression of the reds -and '-was -engaged in various skir-
mishes. Later he also served in the office of the provost marshal at Rochester,
Minnesota. He was clerk of the house of representatives of Minnesota three
terms and was clerk of the supreme court eleven years. It was in 1891 that
Mr. Nichols, becoming impressed with the possibilities of the Sound country,
came directly to what is now the very prosperous antT growing city of Ever-
ett. He was one of the very first men to assist in starting the town. He
served as one of its first councilmen and filled all the town offices, assisting
largely in the development of the city. He carried on an extensive business
in real estate, and in 1896 was chairman of the Republican county central
committee. Later he was elected to the office of chairman of the Republican
county central committee. In 1899 Mr. Nichols received the nomination of
secretary of state, made a strong campaign, and was easily elected to the
place which he is now filling to the highest satisfaction of all his constitu-
ents, thus showing his eminent fitness for the office.
Mr. Nichols' marriage occurred in 1862, when Elizabeth S. Hurd, a
native of the state of New Hampshire, became his wife. She was of old
English ancestry and was a daughter of Asa Hurd, of New Hampshire.
To this union have been born six children, as follows: William A., who
was his father's chief clerk, and died in 1891, of typhoid fever. He was
a young man of splendid capabilities and of high character, and his loss
was very deeply felt. The remaining children are: Augustus S., who is
in business at Everett; Edna M., the widow of George K. Kent; Lizzie, who
is now Mrs. F. J. Riley; Mary E. ; and Ethel L., who is now Mrs. W. C.
Fowler. Mrs. Nichols is actively interested as a member of the Episcopal
church, and the family are all residents of Everett and enjoy the high es-
teem of all the citizens of that place. Mr. Nichols is a prominent member
of the Masonic fraternity and the Elks, and is much esteemed for his high
character. His success is the result of honest effort, and his life may well
serve as a model for the future generations.
8*
Ill HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
DAVID STEWART.
The family to which Mr. David Stewart belongs has its origin far back
in the history of Scotland, when elan fought elan, ana the land was the scene
of bli fe with its would-be master. England. It is pleasant to con-
template the pasl of our ancestors, even if we should be led into the melan-
choly conclusion of Hamlet, for the present is ever the product of the past,
inherit, to some degree at least, the good and bad of their forefathers.
John Stewart, the father of David, was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland. He
married a lady of Scotch birth and ancestry, Elizabeth Fergeson, and in 1857
they emigrated to Canada, settling in what is now Petersboro, Ontario. He
a customs official in Scotland, but took up farming when he arrived
in An erii I he fact that they were Scotch Presbyterians is all one requires
who is familiar with that worthy sect as evidence of their firm principles of
moral conduct and noble character; for many years he was an elder in that
church. His death occurred in 1890, when seventy-six years of age, and his
wife died in 1S71. They were the parents of ten children; four sons and
four daughters reached maturity, and seven of these are living, two of them
in Washington. Peter Stewart is in the hotel business in Tenino, Thurston
county.
1 id Stew. art. one of the prominent law firm of Reynolds and Stewart,
ami the present prosecuting attorney of Lewis count}', was born in Glasgow,
land, Augusl to. [848. As he was only nine years old when he was
brought to America, most of his education was received in Canada. When
d decided t. 1 make the law a profession he went into the office of Hon.
I ("Hand .if Brainerd, .Minnesota, who was afterwards a member of
\iter a thorough course of study there, in which be gained much
cal knowledge which proved of so much benefit when he began
' '■ ii elf. I,,- was admitted to the bar in May. 1875. The first
of his labor- was in Bismarck, Dakota, and he continued there until
1889, when he came to Chehalis. lor the first few months he practiced alone,
of [890 the linn of Reynolds and Stewart was established,
nd it has sim ..1' the recognized leaders among the lawyers of
the county.
Mr Stewart has keen prominent in politics as a member of the Repub-
party. While in Brainerd, Minnesota, he was elected city justice, and
- position in Bismarck, Dakota, lie is a man firm in his con-
"ghl and imbued with public spirit which makes him an
11 of ••'(•, 1 value to a community. This was soon recognized in Chehalis.
n July 1. [894, he w cl en mayor of the city, and was continually
ted, so thai he filled that position until July 1, 1901. During this period
1' the important improvements which have made Che-
I a model municipality were accomplished, and much of the credit
'" ' r. In toco he was elected prosecuting attorney of the
ernal connection: are with the Ancient Order of United
•""' In- is in th( .Hi Conor of that order.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 115
HON. ALONZO E. RICE.
The present incumbent of the office of judge of the superior court of
Lewis, Pacific and Wahkiakum counties, Washington, comes of good Welsh
and Irish ancestry, and has, through his own efforts, raised himself above
mediocrity and forged ahead into the class of those who "do things." His
grandfather, Eleazer Rice, came to Ohio when that country was as sparsely
settled as the western coast is at the present time ; he made his home in Cuya-
hoga county, and it was there that his son Alonzo was born, in September,
1819. The latter came to Illinois and settled in Fayette county, where he
married. When a young man he was in that characteristic and venturesome
life of the Mississippi flat-boatman, in which he became acquainted with that
roistering, reckless class, which has passed away with the onward advance
of civilization. But retiring from this pursuit he purchased a farm in Fay-
ette county, on which he resided during the latter part of his life. He and
his wife were members of the Methodist church, and he was a worker in the
Sunday-school, being noted for his integrity of character and worthy efforts
for the benefit of his fellow men. He became acquainted with and remained
a life-long friend of that great Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, and supported
him during his wonderful career in politics. Flis wife was Esther Owen,
a native of the state of Ohio and a daughter of James Owen, who had served
in the war of 1812. The elder Mr. Rice died January 3, 1898, aged seventy-
eight years, but his wife still resides in Glenwood, Iowa, having also readied
the age of seventy-eight. There were seven children in their family, and five
sons and a daughter are still living.
Alonzo E. Rice is the only member of this family who has made his home
on the western slope of the Rockies. He was born on May 6, 1S57. After
receiving a good general education in the Central University at I Vila, Iowa,
he earned his own living for a while by teaching school, but he bad not yet
reached the point where he felt he was prepared for life, and he began reading-
law in the office of a law firm in Knoxville, Iowa. His knowledge of tins
wide field w-as soon extensive enough so that he was admitted to the bar in
1883. In the meantime he had been allowed to practice in the courts of inferior
jurisdiction, and in 1882 had removed to Nebraska, where he practiced until
he came to Washington. In the fall of 1883 he was elected county surveyor,
having been well grounded in the profession of civil engineering, and in the
following year he was chosen to the lower house of the Nebraska legislature,
where he served one term. In rSgo he came to Centralia, Washington, and
this has since been his home and place of business. He had been here only
two years when he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney of Lewis
county, and the record of his official duties in this capacity bear-, the marl:- of
efficiency and ability. During his term a remarkable case occurred in which
two physicians were tried for manslaughter, and he succeeded in convicting
both. The paper which he drew againsl them in this case was so clear and
forceful that it was incorporated in the American and English Encyclopedia
of Forms as a model complaint. His election to the bench of the superior
court came in 1900. Since he has been in this position his decisions have
seldom been reversed by a higher court, his instructions to the jury have
L16 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
been clear and concise— not a common characteristic of such documents—
and he has gained the reputation of being an exceedingly competent trial
judge.
When not on the bench the judge was very prominent in the councils of
the Republican party, campaigning the state under the auspices of the state
central Republican committee; in tin's way he performed some very valuable
service for his party in the uncertain and" troublous days of fusionism. He
prominent member of the Masonic lodge, having served as grand orator
of the grand lodge of the state, and is a past master of the lodge. He also
belongs to the Independent Order of Red Men.
i [e married, February 12, 1903, Mrs. S. F. Rector, of Centralia, a daugh-
ter of X. I.. Strange and Angel ine (Dickey) Strange, both living in Whitman
county. Mrs. Rice was in the drug business in Centralia, and is a competent
court reporter and has always taken an active interest in public affairs.
B. H. RHODES.
The ancestry of the Rhodes family is Scotch and English, and the record
is complete back into the eighteenth century. One of the incidents of the
grandfather Rb ides recalls one of the favorite customs of England
in recruiting her great sea power. While Mr. Rhodes was in Liverpool one of
ruisers lying in the harbor there sent their recruiting officers around,
and. ithers, impressed Mr. Rhodes into what was to him a distasteful
service He served faithfully, however, anil was finally promoted to be ser-
The Revolution was at this time in progress, and one day, as the vessel
was at >.'ew York, Sergeant Rhodes was given shore liberty and availed him-
self of the opportunity to desert, lie at once enlisted in the patriotic army
and was a zealous defender of the cause until the end. He then located in
New York and later in New Jersey, in which latter place he died.
His son was born while the father resided in New Jersey, lived there
all bis life and followed the trade of miller and millwright. The next one
di Hi was Theodore B. Rhodes, who was born in the
!■ 1 in [835. lie is one of flie Civil war veterans, having
1 Pennsylvania battery, lie has resided in various portions of the
nion, in the cist, in Kansas, and later came to the Pacific coast. At present
1 citizen of Centralia, Lewis county, where he came in 1888.
1 !<• in irried Elizabeth V Long, a native of Pennsylvania, and the five children
the in 1 all living. The mother died January 7, 1903. Three
1 are in \\ ashington, one in ( )regon and one in California. The
prominenl member of the Lewis county bar and makes
bis home
e prefal raphs bring us to Mr. B. II. Rhodes, who is the
of the al parents and the incumbent of one of the important
in the county, lie was born during the residence of his
on ^pril 3, r866. His father soon after-
ed to the new f ] as, and the great part of his preliminary
ition was in the chools of Marion. For the next seven years
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 117
lie was employed as a pedagogue in the states of Kansas and Oregon, and
so successful was he that he was chosen principal of the schools in Milwaukee
of the latter state, which position he held during 1887. At the close of this
work he came to Lewis county and engaged in the abstract business in Cen-
tralia. At the same time he was preparing himself for the profession of law
by reading Blackstone and other commentaries in the office of his brother, with
such success that he was admitted to the county bar on June 13, 1893, and in
the following year to the bar of the supreme court. He at once began his
practice in Centralia, which he continued up to April, 1898. He was one
of the young men who volunteered their services af that time for the war
against Spain, and as a member of the First Washington Volunteer Infantry
was sent to the Philippines, being the first sergeant of Company M. He
participated in all the battles during the time of his service, and on August 25.
1899, was made second lieutenant of his company, as a reward for meri-
torious conduct. With the remnant of his regiment he returned home, and
received his honorable discharge in San Francisco on the 1st of November,
1899, and then returned to Centralia.
Mr. Rhodes has always been one of the stalwarts of the Republican party,
and in November, 1900, he was elected county clerk of Lewis county; in
connection with bis duties in this office he was also clerk of the superior
court of the county. He proved himself a very capable official in this position,
and in IQ02 was again nominated and elected to succeed himself.
In April, 1889, Mr. Rhodes became the husband of Miss Lillian M.
Weatherston, who was born in the state of Oregon. Her father, Adam
Weatherston, was one of the pioneers of that state, and the Oregon City mills
and the Walla Walla mills are monuments to his constructive ability. One
son was born of this union, Jay C, who is now attending school. In Novem-
ber, 1891, Mr. Rhodes lost his first wife, and on June 3, 1896, he married
Miss Amanda E. Willard, a daughter of Alexander Willard, now a resident
of Chehalis, and her native state was Kansas. Another son was born by
this marriage, Horace B. Mr. Rhodes takes an active interest in various
fraternal organizations; he was made a Mason in the Centerville Lodge No.
63, and is senior warden of the lodge ; he has been a member of the Ancient
Order of United Workmen since 1890. He has a nice home in Centralia and
is very popular in social circles.
ULYSSES EDGAR HARMON.
The Harmon family traces its ancestry back to an old English stock,
some members of which emigrated to this country and settled in the states
of Vermont and New York, where they bore an important part in the early
development of the east. Asa Harmon was born in that city known to every
loyal American, Bennington, Bennington county, Vermont, in 1827. In
1S52 he married Lucy Snow, after which he removed to Ontario county,
New York, but a few years later came farther west and took up his home
in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was a minister of the Christian Church, and
when the Civil war broke out he enlisted in the spring of 1861 in the Union
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
army as chaplain of the Third .Michigan Cavalry, serving to the end of the
war. Returning to Michigan in 1S65, he remained for a few years and then
his family to southern Illinois, where in connection with his ministry he
cultivated a farm. In [883 he made the last long move of his life, coming to
1 ewis county, Washington, where he purchased a farm in this fertile region
ined until his death, which occurred when he was seventy-three years
[900. His wife still survives and makes her home with
ses, being now seventy-four years old.
dgar Harmon was born while his father made his home in
Kalam ,. Michigan, on October 26, 1864. He was educated in the schools
1 Illinois. He first engaged in teaching school, and after coming
1 Lewis county was elected superintendent of the county schools for two
re elected for another term. He had already decided, how-
thai the life of the educator was not the best held of his endeavor, and
while 111 this last mentioned office he was spending his leisure time in
the reading of law, with such good results that he was admitted to the bar
at the expiration of his term. 1 [e took his place among the active practitioners
of ( ihehalis in [893, and in November of that year formed a partnership with
Mr. Millett, which is still in existence and is one of the most prosperous law
- of the city. Besides having their share of the general practice they
pecialtj of probate business, and they have an excellent reputation
in this branch of the profession.
7 Mr. Harmon married Miss Ellen M. Roundtree, who has the dis-
tincti tig born in Lewis county, and her father, Martin, was a settler
in the territory as far back as [853, almost in the hazy period of the history
of the Pacific coast. The names of the four children born of this union are
Warren O., Eva S., Claude l'>. and Cora. The parents are both members
of the Christian church, and he is an elder. I fe has passed all the chairs in the
fraternal orders of the • )dd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Work-
men, and holds membership in the Woodmen of the World and Masons; he
- often been ol ce to these fraternities as a public speaker. He belongs
to the Republican party, and, because of the deep interest he has taken in the
if the veterans of the Civil war, has been chosen an honorary member
it and \11uv of the Republic.
J. E. WILLIS
ntj thre< Chehalis was a mere post-village, boasting of
tut which now make it one of the promising
It was when the town was thus, as it were, in its infancy,
W illis canv establi lied himself as an aspiring young attorney
take charge of any legal transactions which his would-be clients
p wuli the town, has become identified with
which have aided it^ development, and his place as the
in honorable one and a source of just pride and gratification.
I lis ancestral hist lm t as far back as the settlement of America
r aboul H Puritan of English stock came to this coun-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 119
try and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where lie was a man of consid-
erable distinction. Further along in the history of this country and of the
Willis family, we find that great-grandfather Willis participated in the Revo-
lutionary war. The latter's son. William T.. was born on the Monongahela
river. West Virginia, and later located in Canton, Georgia, where he was
an eloquent minister of the Christian church, which had only shortly before
come into existence. One of his children born during the period of his resi-
dence in Canton was William T.. Jr., the year of whose birth was 1822.
He followed the occupation of farming; he was a firm believer in the political
principles advocated by the Whig party, but did not live long enough to see
their triumphant outcome, for he died in his thirty-second year, in 1855. He
married Mary Mulkey McCartney, a native of central Tennessee; her ances-
tors were Protestants from the north of Ireland, her grandfather was a soldier
in the Revolution, and members of her family, as well as that of the Willises,
took part in the Civil war. She is now in the seventy-fourth year of her age
and resides in Eureka, Kansas, which has been the home of the family for
many years. The two children born of her marriage with Mr. Willis are.
still living; the daughter, Ellen J., is the wife of Frederick Shaw and resides
in Eureka.
The other child of these parents was J. E. Willis, who claims Illinois as
his native state, being born on October 19, 1850, during the residence of his
parents in Pinckneyville, Perry county. The early death of his father had
deprived the family of many of the comforts which he could have provided,
and as soon as he became old enough he was compelled to shift largely for
himself. Fie gained his education by bis own efforts, and is thoroughly de-
serving of the title of a self-made man. His youth was passed in Illinois, hut
he removed to Kansas in 1870, and attended school at Emporia, and. finally
settling at Eureka, Kansas, began reading law in the office of W. C. 1 luffnian,
of that place, and so much was his success that he was admitted to the liar in
May, 1878. But he did not cease his efforts at this point, hut has always
been a thinking student of bis profession, and also deeply interested in affairs
of general importance, so that an acquaintance with him soon reveals the fact
that he is a well rounded, practical gentleman, conversant with his business
in all its details. He owns a good technical library and also a good selection
of general works. On gaining admission to the bar Mr. Willis came at once
to Chehalis, arriving here on the first of May, 1879. He has given special
attention to real estate, commercial and municipal law. and has made a suc-
cessful career mainly along these lines.
He married, before coming to this state, in 1877, Miss Jessie Enterkine,
a lady of Scotch ancestry. They have one daughter, wdio is a student in the
State University. Mr. Willis cast his first vote for General Grant, hut since
then has been most of the time on the Democratic side of the political fence,
although^ he holds himself strictly independent in such matters and gives his
vote to the party or men which come nearest to his id< al I l< served for two
years as postmaster of Chehalis. lie is a member of the Knights of Pythias
and Woodmen of the World, and is a very popular citizen of the community.
120 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
C. H. SPRINGER.
One of the great industries in the state of Washington is the manu-
facture of lumber from the vast areas of timber which abound there. And
one of these successful enterprises is the Olympia Door & Sash Factory,
which was established in 1887 by Mr. C. II. Springer and his associates,
ami of this company Mr. Springer is now president. The business is large
and flourishing, having a sawmill in connection, and all machinery necessary
for the manufacture of doors, sashes, blinds and other such articles. The
product is sold in Seattle, Portland and to the local trade. Under Mr.
Springer's capable management the business has increased tenfold, now em-
ploying sixty-live men, and is not only profitable to its owners but to the
whole community as well.
William II. Springer, the father of our subject, was a native of Ger-
many. In his eighteenth year, in 1857, he came to California, being one
the many young men of his fatherland who have found the rigor of the
German military system distasteful to their independent spirits; and in these
men t! ; ited States has found many of its most progressive citizens.
r a time he was in San Francisco, and in 1865 went to Portland, where
he followed his business of lumberman. In Vancouver, Washington, he
married Ellen Turnbull, who came to the northwest with her uncle, Captain
Tumbull, a pioneer steamboat man of the Columbia river. The union was
blessed with five sons and two daughters, and five are still living. The
mother died in 1880. aged forty-two years, but the father still survives, in
his seventy-firsl year, lie belongs to the Republican party, and is a worthy,
upright 1
Mr. ('. II. Springer is a native of southern Oregon, born in Josephine
county, January [o, [861, is a graduate of the Portland high school, and has
his whole business career in the manufacture of doors and sashes. In
1886 Anna I a native of Illinois, became his wife, and they have three
and 'wo dan William 11., Mabel, Clarence, Morris and Claudine.
i identified witli the Republican party and holds membership in the
In mi 1 of the World.
interests Mr. Springer has a valuable mining property
m the Squak district, which is being developed, and a large stamp mill is
u'1 The ore, which is in great abundance, is high grade, and
I that ,t will pav large profits. He owns property in
< Hympia, Ballard and other pi., , and is even-where regarded as a business
man
Mlh ST Ml BANK.
one 01 the important financial institutions of Centralia, Lewis county
! Si ite Bank, It was organized in November, 1894 Mr
.llchnsl was the chief promoter ami is now its capable president:
Chai 5., and Frank T, McNitt also helped in the' enterprise and'
ormer is now the cashier and the latter a stockholder and director 'The
CtJ. /Vr ^^is^^~-~^y^
THf NFW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 121
capital stock is twenty-five thousand dollars, and a general banking business
is transacted. The bank has increased every year since its organization, and
is recognized as a leading factor in the business circles of the county.
The life of Mr. Charles Gilchrist is an interesting one. He is a native
of bonnie Scotland, and his ancestors were lowland Scotch. Born September
4, 1 841, he was carefully reared and educated in his native land, and when
nineteen years of age emigrated to America. For the first seven years he was
engaged in farming in Ontario, Canada, after which he sold out and removed
to Washoe county, Nevada, where for nineteen years he worked in the lum-
ber industry of that state, finding 1 very profitable field for his endeavors.
Disposing of his interests he next went to Bodie, California, where he engaged
in the same occupation until 1884, which is the date of his coming to Cen-
tralia. He had become acquainted with every detail of the lumber industry,
and he continued it here by buying a sawmill and operating it for six years.
He then sold the mill property and established the Lewis County Bank, of
which he was president. He later sold it to the First National Bank of Cen-
tralia, and during the financial panic of r894 it failed. Mr. Gilchrist then
effected the organization of the State Bank, : and has been conducting it with
marked success ever since.
In 1867 Mr. Gilchrist became the husband of Sarah Ann Van Scriber,
a native of Canada, and they had two sons.' Tames is now the manager of the
Salzer Valley Sawmill Company, in which Mr. Gilchrist and his son are
stockholders; and Charles S. is the cashier of the bank. The death of Mrs.
Gilchrist occurred in 1877; she had been a most devoted wife and mother,
and her loss was also felt outside of the family circle. In 1879 Mr. Gilchrist
married Miss Mary Fulston, who was born in Carson City. Nevada: their one
son, Harry, is now a clerk in his father's bank. They have one of the fine
residences of the city and are held in high esteem in society. He is a member
of the chapter and commandery of the Masonic blue lodge and received his
sublime degree as a Master Mason in Carson City, Nevada, in 1867. He
votes for the success of the Republican party, but he is not interested to the
extent of desiring office, although he held the position of postmaster while
living in California.
LAWRENCE BAR.
Lawrence Bar is one of the many German-born Americans who have
found this country a land of opportunities and have been eminently successful;
he has been a prosperous farmer, served his adopted country in the dark <:
of the Civil war, and now has a foremost place among the merchants of the
city of Centralia, Washington. George and .Maria Ann (Eugner) Bai
his parents, were born in Germany, were married there and later broughl w ith
them to America their four children. After residing in the Mate of New
York for twelve years Mr. Bar came with his wife and three of his sons to
Minnesota in 1856; in Fillmore county he and each of his sons took up a farm
of one hundred and sixty acres. He improved this and on it spent the rest of
his life. His wife died' in 1876 at the age of seventy-nine, and he survived
L22 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
until 1887, having attained the good old age of ninety-three years. They
were members of the Lutheran church and people of industry and great
reliability.
Lawrence Bar is proud to recall that he was born in the fatherland which
has sent forth so many eminent men to the world; he is a native of Bavaria,
1 lermany, born there in 1838, and is the only one of the family in the state of
hingti n. I lis early training was received in the schools of New York
and Minnesota, and he was brought up to a farmer's life. When the first
call for three hundred thousand troops for the Civil war went through the
land he, with his two brothers. John and George, offered his services; he was
enrolled in October, 1861, in Company C, Third Minnesota Volunteer In-
fantry. While in Kentucky with his regiment he was taken with measles,
and, as he had camped in the mud and wet, his life was despaired of, but after
partial recovery he was sent home, and, not being strong enough for further
duty, he received an honorable discharge in 1862. His brothers remained
with their regiment till the close of the war. Mr. Bar's health had been so
thoroughly undermined by the exposure of army life that he was not able to
take up farm work again. He retained a general supervision of bis farm,
however, and in connection opened a store in Spring Valley. Minnesota, which
he continued till 1891. This year is the date of his arrival in Centralia. His
first venture here was a shoe store, but he kept adding to his stock until he
now deals in clothing, hats, caps, shoes and all manner of men's furnishing
Is. His store, forty-eight by forty-eight feet, bad been found wholly
inadequate to accommodate his business, and in 1902 he erected a two-story
brick structure, thirty by one hundred feet, by far the finest business block in
the city; it has heavy plate-glass windows, pressed brick front, and at the cor-
nel bears the name of the man who has so fully deserved this prosperity,
rence Bar; it is located in the center of the business district and is a credit
i" the 1 it} Mr. Bar also owns other property in the city, and has six hundred
o| valuable timber land.
Mr. Bar's marriage occurred in 1878, when he became the husband of
Mrs. Harriet II. Parsons, a native of Chautauqua county, New York; she
ne daughter by her previous marriage, Hattie May. who is the wife
■ Dr. E. C. Truesdell, Mr. and Mrs. Bar have one son,' William Lawrence
who i- a .indent in his junior year at Stanford University. Mr Bar
interested in the success of the Republican party and takes an active part
in local affairs as a member of the city council.
DR. JOHN II. DUMON.
While the physician undoubtedly occupies a foremost place anion- the
ed profess.ons, and the rewards for a successful career in this line are
'••;l,,''ir',"1 ' " '"creasing number of the ambitious youth of the
1 thori ire numerous among the roses and the successful
ease which accompanies many of the professions
■""' "" rewards are b for the years of preparatory study the perS
equired ... gel one into a good practice and the actual hardships
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 123
which are endured in journeying in cold and rain to the patients far and near.
Dr. Dumon, who is the pioneer M. D. of Centralia. has not only put himself
to the front in his profession, but ranks among the capable business men of
the city.
The ancestry of this gentleman must be designated as French-American,
for his father, John Francis, was born in France and emigrated to Canada,
where he was married to Sarah Rice, who came of a family long resident in
the new world. Coming to Smyrna, Michigan, in 1840, he purchaser! and
improved a farm, making that his home until his death, which occurred when
he was sixty-nine years old, in 1884. He had always borne the reputation
of an honorable man, and had been a worthy member of the Baptist church.
His wife survived him for many years and was seventy-five years old when
she died in 1899. There were seven children in this family, four sons and
three daughters, five of whom are living; but the only one living in the state
of Washington is the Doctor.
Although the future of man is uncertain, and the wisest of present-day
seers could not have foretold the life of the little infant as he lay in his
mother's arms, there was much rejoicing in the home in Smyrna, Michigan,
when the baby John came into the world on the 26th of September, 1850.
He spent the intervening years of childhood at his father's home and was
carefully reared and educated, attending the graded schools and later the high
school in Ionia, Michigan. "When it became fixed that he should study medi-
cine for a career he went to the State University at Ann Arbor, Michigan,
where he graduated in the medical department, March 28, 1877. For the
next twelve years he was engaged in practice at Crystal, Montcalm county.
Michigan, during which time he was successful and laid the foundation for
future work. In 1889 Dr. Dumon came out to Centralia for the purpose of
investing in some of the vast timber lands of the vicinity, and so pleased was
he with all the environments that he decided to make this his permanent loca-
tion ; so it was by almost accident that he became one of the prominent citizens
of this city. He bought timber land in both Oregon and in the vicinity of
Centralia, and at the present time holds about one thousand four hundred
acres. He soon built up a good practice in the city, and has acquired <|in'te a
reputation as a first-class surgeon and physician. But he has also been inter-
ested in the growth of his adopted city and has built several houses in the place,
being the owner of the building in the center of the business part in which
his office is located. Many of his profession have come and gone since he
first came to Centralia, but he has remained with his choice and become
prosperous.
When Mr. Dumon became old enough he cast his first vote for the Repub-
lican candidate, General Grant, and has ever since been a zealous supporter of
that party. He is a member of the state board of medical examiners, having
been appointed by Governor McGraw and reappointed by Governor Rogers.
He is also surgeon for the Northern Pacific Railroad in his section. In the
same year that he came to Washington he married Miss Alice Jackson, who
is Canadian born, her birthplace being Sarnia, Ontario. They have one
daughter, whom they have named Alice May.
i « >F THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
HON. OLIVER VINTON LINN.
isylvania, in the year 1813 ushered into the world
me the father of one of Thurston county's prominent
Linn was born of Scotch-Irish ancestors,
e early settlers of the state of Pennsylvania. He was
s native county, and married Eliza Donaldson, who
stock, and they were the parents of eleven children.
rainier, a member and elder of the United
I church for man . and a zealous Republican, Mr. Linn
happy life and died in 1879, at the age of sixty-six. His
: years and passed away at a ripe age in 1893.
mily live are living; one of the sons, Rev. A. E. Linn, is a
II minister and has a charge in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
er Vinton Linn, who is the only member of the family living in
1 Greenville, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, on. the
nlier, 1857. and was educated in Westminster College at
ania, where he graduated in t88o. lie then read law in
md Mehard in Mercer. He was admitted to the bar in
■ m there for two years, and then went to Atchison,
i his profession from 1884 to 1889. This latter
s arrival in Washington, where for two years he was
ounty, and then came to Olympia; there he carried
law practice until [898, at which time he was elected
11 the unexpired term of Judge Aver, who had died. Upon
i.'.t term he w en to succeed himself, and is now
judicial position with credit and to the satisfaction
ill.
lappily married in [883 to Maggie A. Taggart, of East
the daughtei 1 t John Taggart. They are the parents of
I lie Judge is a member of the Masonic fraternity
lie owns a beautiful home in Olympia and
nterests in the county. His active support and
■ the highest good of his community, and his
the 1 peel of all.
ROBEF r FROST.
men yet living in this country whose adventures would
md hardships of the early pioneers cannot be
by the present generation, for it is to them that
th and 1 on of the great west, which is,
'■• the '" e event of the century
to hear the recital of the many incidents
I ind we shall here record briefly the long
rthy citizen of Olympia
' »« funbridge Wells. Kent. England, on the
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 125
25th of October, 1835, his family belonging to old and sturdy stock. He
was educated in London, and, having early formed a taste for seafaring life,
in his seventeenth year he ran away from home and for three years was
a sailor before the mast, visiting every part of the known world except the
East Indies. In August of 1855 he landed in San Francisco, and for a time
sailed between that city and Sacramento; he then went out to sea again on
the old brig Susan Abigail, and on January 1, 1856, leaving her at Portland,
took up the business of plastering. Portland was at that time only a small
village and he also worked at Oregon City and at The Dalles, in the latter
place being in the employ of the United States government.
At the breaking out of the mining excitement on the Frazer river in
1858, Mr. Frost joined a party of one hundred men under the command of
Dave McLaughlin, a son of the good Dr. McLaughlin of northwest fame.
Their journey was fraught with much danger from hostile Indians, who fre-
quently attacked them ; they fought their way through at last, six of their
number being killed and many wounded, and the last battle, which occurred
about thirty miles south of the British line, was called McLaughlin canyon,
near the Okanagon river. On their arrival at Frazer river the party sepa-
rated, Mr. Frost going up the river to Foster's bar, where he had considerable
success in mining, but, being compelled to pay a dollar a pound for food, he
soon gave up the undertaking. With his companions he went down stream
to Boston bar, thence footed it over the mountains, took the boat to Victoria,
and from there arrived in Olympia without a cent. For three years he worked
in a printing office, then returned to his trade, working at five dollars a day
until he was again on a sound financial basis. In 1870 he purchased an inter-
est in a hardware store, which was then known as Hoffman and Frost, carry-
ing this on successfully for three years, when they divided the stock, and
Mr. Frost located at 418 Main street and carried on a prosperous trade.
Mr. Frost has always been ready to embark in any enterprise that would
aid in the prosperity of his city, and has been connected with successful under-
takings. He was one of the original stockholders and builders of the electric
light and power plant of Olympia, being vice president of the company. He
was one of the organizers and a director of the Capital National Bank ; he
owned a half interest in the lower falls at Tumwater, a valuable property.
He is treasurer and one of the owners of the Six Eagles mine in the Okanagon
district ; the property is a valuable one and large returns are expected. Mr.
Frost had charge of the development for some time ; a shaft two hundred and
ten feet deep has been sunk, and a tunnel is now almost completed, which
will drain the mine and allow the ore to be taken out on an incline. During
the great panic of 1893 Mr. Frost, not through any fault of his, suffered
some reverses, but he is still one of the prosperous men of the city and retains
his remarkable mental activity and his business push, which have made him
so successful.
At Olympia in 1862 Mr. Frost became the husband of Louisa Holmes,
a native of Wisconsin, and she bore him four daughters, all born in Olympia :
Nellie and Carrie, who are keeping house for their father; Florence, the wife
of Charles E. Garfield, who is engaged in mining in Alaska; and Anna, who
HISTORY mi ["HE I'M A. I SOUND COUNTRY.
the Ellensburg Normal School. The beloved mother of this
: she was a lady of great refinement and intelligence,
dren were deprived of one whose influence and
ennoble and uplift those around her. Mr.
in his handsome cottage with his two daughters, faithful to
the memory of hi ed wife.
is a prominent Mason, was one of the early members of
,. i. has passed all the degrees in the Scottish Rite, including
. and i- now senior warden of the Lodge of Perfection. He
lemocral and served as city treasurer for four years,
so popular with his fellow citizens in this Republican
he received a re election. His beautiful home is situated on a tract
half; erlooking the bay, and covered with a great variety
that it is a veritable paradise, where he may spend his re-
| > ce and quiet.
JAMES McELROY MAURIS.
s review is one of Tacoma's leading lawyers. He was
_.m county, < )hio, on the 16th day of June, 1861, and is of Scotch-
try. His paternal ancestors came from England with
nd settled in Pennsylvania. There Warren Harris, the
>ur subject, was born. I 'pun arriving at manhood's estate
Tied Miss 1 lari«a Williams. They subsequently removed
inty, Ohio, where 1 leorge Harris, the father of James McElroy,
Win 1 1 was yet a small boy his father removed with his
hi count) in the same state, lie was the eldest of seven
reared and educated in Morgan county, and there learned
e, which he followed for several years, but later in life
[ricultural pursuits. George Harris married Miss
h lri>h ancestry, and in 1870 they removed
Vernon county, where they remained until 1884,
up their abode in Iowa, first going to Palo Alto county
>ntas county. There they purchased a farm and spent
VIi II p iing in his final rest in 1898, his
1 in the grave about three years. They were Quakers
iple hi the highest respectability and
born of their union, but only Eour of the number
maturity.
1\ representative of the family in Wash-
in the public schools of Ohio and Wisconsin.
■id subsequently attended the Western Normal
duating from there he came direct to this
in August, [889. While holding the position of
law in tl 1 of \. C. Richards, and later
rge II. Walker, being admitted to the bar in [894, and for
with tin firm of \\ alker & Fitch. Prac-
iat time until January. [900, the firm of Fitch & Harris
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 127
was then formed, and these enterprising gentlemen are now enjoying a very
large and remunerative law patronage. In the early part of 1901 Mr. Harris
was appointed a member of the city council of Tacoma to fill out the unex-
pired term of John Hartman, who was elected sheriff of the county, and
after completing the term he was elected to that position, during which time
he served as chairman of the committee on privileges, franchises and corpor-
ations. His political support is given to the Republican party, and he is a
member of the State Bar Association, as well as of the Bar Association of
Pierce county, he being at present the secretary of the latter association.
In December, 1891, Mr. Harris was married to Miss Laura Arntson.
She is a native of Minnesota and a daughter of Judge A. C. Arntson, now
of Tacoma. Four children have come to brighten and bless this home, all
of whom were born in Tacoma, and in order of birth they are named as fol-
lows : Evangeline, Marian Deborah, Richard Leigh ton and James Norton.
Mrs. Harris is a member of the Episcopal church, while our subject is a birth-
right Quaker. His name is a familiar one in political and professional circles
throughout this section of the state, and by reason of marked intellectual
activity and superior ability he has risen to his present high position in the
legal fraternity of Pierce county.
GEORGE SPEIRS.
George Speirs, one of the prominent residents and business men of What-
com, Washington, was born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, December 1,
1855, and is a son of George Speirs and Anne (McLaughlin) Speirs, the
former of whom was a shoe manufacturer as well as native of the same
locality, who died at the age of sixty-six years, while the latter, also a native
of Scotland, died in 1881. Seven children were born to these parents, namely :
John, of Glasgow, a house agent; Archibald, also of Glasgow and a house
agent; James, a clergyman in British Guiana; Mrs. Christina, wife of Alfred
Butler, a dairyman of Montreal; Mrs. Mary, wife of Joseph St. Ouintin, a
painter of Montreal; Mrs. Anne, wife of John McLaughlin, a mechanic of
Winnipeg, and George, our subject.
George Speirs received his early education in the common and high
schools of Kilmarnock, and left school at the age of fifteen, after which he
entered the school of life, and learned the printer's trade in the city of Glas-
gow. After ten years in all. during which he was working as a printer in
Glasgow, he emigrated in 1879 to Winnipeg, and was employed on the Free
Press. However, in 1889, he made another change, and came to Whatcom,
where he embarked in business for himself. At that time the town had a
population of twenty-five hundred, and there was a good opening for his
business, which has been a healthy one from the start. Mr. Speirs printed
the first daily paper ever published on Bellingham bay. The Bulletin, of which
he was editor, proprietor and publisher. In 1890 he disposed of the paper to
Austin & Rogers, and it was the parent of the present Blade, one of the lead-
ing newspapers of Whatcom. He was one of the organizers of the Belling-
ham Oyster Company in 1902. with Henry White as president and Speirs as
vice president, and this corporation has had a most successful career.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
i Republican in r nd has represented the party in both
ions. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masons
July i v 1S77. he was married to Robina Wright, a daughter
.In. a lithographic printer of < dasgow, and a member of an old
:h family. One daughter has been born to Mr.
5, namely : Euphemia Stirling, twenty-two years of age, who
Albertson Graham, a dealer in agricultural implements at
Whatcom.
BENNETT W. JOHNS.
history of Washington 1- familiar to Bennett W. Johns
inection with the experiences of frontier life in this portion
II.- history forms a connecting link between the primitive past
an,' erpri; • present, for as early as 1853 he took up his abode in
H,. Was Dixon Spring, Smith county, Tennessee, on the
ary, [838, ami is of Welsh and English ancestry. His grand-
rved In- country in the war of 1812. He was
of the wealthy planters and slaveowners of Tennes-
sr the < an extensive farm and a beautiful home. In his re-
' oul Baptist, and was one of the pillars of his
rcli. netl I ewis Johns, was also a native of the state of
■ere he was horn in the year 1802. For his wife he chose Miss
who was born near the birthplace of her husband, and in
- the parents and ten -children, started on the
to the Pacific coast. Near Soda Springs, Idaho,
died of n n fever, and the eldest daughter, Fran-
the wife of Alexander Barnes in the east, passed away
ifter the death of her mother, and both lie buried
ath. This was a sad bereavement to the remainder
mily, hut such was the lot of many of the brave pioneers. When
lountains the snow became so deep that they
I to leave the wagons and much of their outfit, and later they
and took over what they could, and later food became
ould all have perished had not help reached them by
-. who had been sent out to relieve the weary
dili en who accompanied them on this journey are here
birth: W. F. Johns, who is now a resident of
eth, who became the wife of T. G. Grow, and
her age in California; Bennett W., the subject
h. who died in King county, Washington, when fifteen
1 I" . the deceased wife of \V. II. Mitchell, whose history
1 this work: .Mary B., who married R. H.
■'it. Washington; Martin R., of Olympia; Belle,
f Martin < iilver and has also passed away; and Nora,
ni 1 [ill.
1 Washington was begun on the 1st of May,
the .ith of November, 1853, the latter
TH£ NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
, MOX AND
TILDEJJ FOUNDATIONS
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 129
part of the trip having been made in canoes down the White river. On
reaching his destination the father took up a donation claim in King county,
nine miles southeast of Seattle, on the Duwamish river, where he engaged in
farming and stock-raising. Two years after their arrival here the Indian war
broke out, and the family were obliged to seek protection in Seattle. The
father and two older boys were volunteers in the war, serving three months
in the First and six months in the Second Regiment, and were in the fight
at Seattle in 1856 when the Indians attacked the city. While the family
were at breakfast they were driven from their home in the suburbs, and dur-
ing that night the house was ransacked of all that the Indians thought worth
taking. But their worst misfortune was the stealing of the winter's supply
of flour. The father and the boys had raised the wheat on their own land,
the former sowing in the morning as much as the boys could dig into the
ground and cover during the rest of the day. Later on this was harvested
in the primitive fashion of the time and was threshed with a flail and win-
nowed in the wind. Then the precious grain was taken by Mr. Johns and
Mr. John Collins and others, in a flatbottonied; ;scow to- Olympia, where it
was ground, and the flour was then brought to Seattle, and placed in A. A.
Denny's store, where it remained until' the night of tlit Indian ravage.
With characteristic energy, however, Mr. Johns set .about the task of
retrieving his lost possessions, and after residing on bis farm for several vears
he rented it and removed to Seattle, where hediv.ed until within a few months
of his death, and then went to Olympia, where he made his home with his
daughter, Mrs. William H. Mitchell, until his death, in 1879, when he had
reached the seventy-seventh milestone on the journey of life.
Bennett W. Johns, the second son of this worthy old pioneer, was but
fourteen years of age when he accompanied the family on the long and peril-
ous journey to the Evergreen state. He made the trip on horseback and
drove their loose cattle, and, although they were frequently harassed by the
Indians, who drove off their stock, they always succeeded in recapturing the
most of them. The education which he had begun in his native state was
completed in Seattle, Washington, and he remained with his father on the
farm until he was twenty years of age, after which he obtained employment
in a sawmill, having been able during the first three months to send his father
sixty dollars. Going from there to Fort Hope, British Columbia, he engaged
in mining at Puget Sound Bar, on Frazer river, and so well were his services
rewarded that he was soon able to send to his father one hundred and four
dollars in gold dust. After following the varied fortunes of a miner for
some time he turned his attention to the fur trade, in which he also met with
success, but in 1869 he abandoned that vocation and returned to Olympia,
where for the following fourteen years he was engaged in the sawmilling
business with W. H. Mitchell. In 1876 Mr. Johns purchased a farm of six
hundred and forty acres on Bush Prairie, since which his time has been
given to the stock business. In addition to this tract he also owns two hun-
dred and forty acres three miles from Olympia and a good residence in the
city.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
The marriage of Mr. Johns was celebrated in 1872, when Miss Mary
I. Vertn is wife. She was born in Illinois and is a daughter of
Charles M. Vei ilso of that commonwealth. One daughter, Ruth, was
' righten and bless their home, and she is now the wife of A. S. Ker-
: Franklin county, Washington. Mr. Johns is a mem-
church, in which he has been an officer since the organiza-
e church in this city. Mrs. Johns joined the church a few months
after its organization. In his political affiliations he has been a life-long
blican, and has served as a school director, as a member of the city
il of Tumwater, this state, and is active in every movement and meas-
ure intended to benefit the county of his adoption. In his fraternal relations
1 past noble grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being
a member of its auxiliary, the Rebekahs, and is a past master workman
of the Ancient I Irder of United Workmen. His long residence in Washing-
g the honored pioneers of the state, and he has aided in
laying the foundation for the present prosperity and progress of this portion
1 if the commonwealth.
HON. ROBERT BRUCE BRYAN.
out honored subject was of Scotch-Irish origin, born
in the north of Ireland, whence he emigrated to America about the middle
ry. He fought valiantly in the war of the Revolution, be-
lieutenant in a Pennsylvania company, and in the battle of Brandywine
wounded reast, carryingthe British bullet for twenty years, nn-
He was made lieutenant colonel of the militia and served eight
1 army. His son, Peter Bryan, settled in Ohio in 1801
1 ors of that state. Elias L. Bryan, the son
ither of the subject of this biography, was born in
a physician and first practiced his profession in
counties, Ohio. In 1S52 he removed to Iowa, where
up to the time of his death, which occurred at the
is. His wife was Amelia Ayres, of Scotch
>' of Ohio. She departed this life in 1844, when the
h was but two years of age. ( )n both sides the ancestors
Scotch Presbyterians and were stanch and reliable
;;x:i" was born in Hancock county, Ohio. August 1
ted in the public schools and later in a seminary at
where he was a student until [861. When the Civil
' to dismember this Union he answered to the call of President
'"' enlisted in Company I. Third Iowa Volunteer
'•",l his I in Missouri and Tennessee and par-
dso in the battle of Shiloh, lie was mus-
During the wintei of [86] and 1862 Mr
1 six week, suffering from an attack of
»■ fa the spring of 1863 he again enlisted in Com-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 131
pany F, Seventh Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which belonged to the Iron
Brigade, and was a part of the Army of the Potomac and the First Army
Corps. After the battle of Gettysburg, however, in which this brigade was
almost decimated, it was consolidated with the Fifth Army Corps. Mr.
Bryan remained with this regiment until the surrender of Lee at Appomattox,
with the exception of forty-one days spent in the hospital recovering from
wounds. He had been wounded by a buckshot in the leg, but continued writh
his regiment until he was struck by a piece of shell in the side, which dis-
abled him for service. Among the many hard-fought battles in which he par-
ticipated were Shiloh. Gettysburg and the Wilderness. He was present at
Appomattox Court House at the time of the surrender of Lee. and also took
part in the grand review of the victorious army at Washington after the war.
He was mustered out on the 3d of July, 1865, and for meritorious services
was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, and also commanded his com-
pany during the absence of the captain.
Returning from the army Mr. Bryan entered the normal school at New
Hampton, Iowa, and graduated there in 1866. He then entered upon his
life-long profession as a teacher, first in Iowa and later in Kansas. He was
principal of schools in Ossawatomie, Mound City and Pleasanton, Kansas,
until 1874, when he was elected school superintendent of Linn count}-. Kan-
sas, which position he filled for four years. In 1880 he purchased the Linn
County Clarion, at Mound City, and until 1883 devoted his attention to news-
paper work. For s6me time after that he was in New Mexico, and in Cali-
fornia.for about a year. His arrival at Olympia was on the 10th of Januarv.
1886. He soon after began teaching at Montesano. where he continued until
1889. at which date Washington was admitted as a state and Mr. Bryan was
chosen as the first superintendent of instruction. The splendid school system
of the state of Washington is largely due to the aggressive ideas of Mr.
Bryan. Upon retiring from that office in 1893 he removed to Aberdeen and
was there superintendent of the city schools for six years. In 1900 he was
nominated again for superintendent of instruction of the state, and in this
office he is now creditably serving. It may be said that Mr. Bryan was born
to his profession and is in his native element when in the schoolroom. An
enthusiastic, patient and progressive teacher, he has promoted the interests of
education along all lines.
Professor Brvan was married in 1869. at Buckingham. Iowa, to Miss
Nancv R. Hitchner, a native of the state of Ohio. Two children have been
born to them : Grace, the wife of R. E. Dandy, cashier of the Northwestern
Lumber Companv at Hoquiam; and Robert W.. who is a merchant and elec-
trician residing at Aberdeen. On the 29th of July. 1894. Mrs. Bryan was
called to her final rest. A lady of refined, quiet and amiable character, her
loss was deeply felt by her husband and family. In October. 1898. Professor
Brvan took as his second wife May L. Arnold, a native of Iowa. The family
are members of the Unitarian church. Mr. Bryan has been a member of the
Masonic order since 1868, and was a thrice past master of the blue lodge.
He is also a Roval Arch Mason and is now scribe of Olympia Chapter No. 7.
While in Kansas he became a member of the Grand \rmy of the Republic
soon after the order was organized, and has ever taken an active part in the
HISTORY OF THE PI GE I SOUND COUNTRY.
nization. Coming of a long line of eminent ancestors, with remarkable
- a educator, with long service as a patriot for the preservation of
ss in all the affairs of life, Mr. Bryan may look with
upon the future ami view with no apprehension the life to come.
JOHN SULLIVAN.
a Sullivan, chief of police, Seattle, Washington, was bom April 12,
1 Koine. Oneida county, New York, son of Timothy and Mary Sulli-
latives of Ireland. His father died in 1890. and his mother is now a
la. Of the eight children composing the Sullivan family,
ord that Jeremiah is a miner, residing in Canada; James, engaged in
ig, lives in Alaska: Timothy, also a miner, is a resident of San Fran-
fornia; Patrick, a farmer, lives in Canada; Ann is the wife of
1 mada; Mary, wife of Michael Cororan, Nanaimo, Brit-
ish ( olumbia : I lorn ire, wife of John Toole, of Canada.
Sullivan received a common school education in Canada, his parents
:' moved to Nova Scotia in his infancy. Leaving school in 1869,
to work in the coal mines near his home, in Nova Scotia, and was
I I en For a period of six years. In 1875 he went to Victoria
nid the IK to \laska, up the Stickeen river, on a prospecting trip of
li-. after which he returned to British Columbia, and remained there,
coal mines in the vicinity of Nanaimo, until 1880. In 1880
il remained here then only a short time. The next eight
11 the New Castle coal mines, and while there was appointed
1 mine inspector under Governor Semple, in which capacity he
of two years. After this he joined the Seattle police force,
d efficient service soon gained for him promotion from patrol-
mi. then to captain, and in June, 1901, he was appointed chief
r Humes. Th office is under civil service rules and is practically
s writing the police force under him consists of eighty-six
and sergeants. While Air. Sullivan is a Republican,
ive pari in politics, as under civil service order office is removed
an was married August , [886, to Miss Sarah Ann Tosh, a
Hid a Adam Tosh, who is now engaged in
h Lake Mrs. Sullivan is of Irish descent. They have two
laughter, Vdam Charles, Leo and Mar) \.gnes.
WILLI \\1 D, CLARKE.
m is numbered William D. Clarke, who was
V.pril, 1866, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, lie is a
a native of Ireland, who came to the United States in
ii " the Emerald Isle he crossed the Atlantic to the
ania, where he lived for many
busim treei he was employed as an accountant.
■ •' daughtet of Captain Henry Eaton and a native
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 133
of the Keystone state, representing an old American family. Air. and Mrs.
Clarke became the parents of seven sons and a daughter: Henry E., Joseph
D., William D., Robert, John, Frank, Charlie and Mollie. The father was
called to his final rest in 1898 when sixty-eight years of age, but the mother
is still living, now making her home in Newcastle. Pennsylvania, at the age
of seventy-three years.
In the public schools of Newcastle, Pennsylvania, William D. Clarke pur-
sued his education until he had reached the age of sixteen. He then put aside
his text books to enter upon his business career and learn the more difficult
lessons in the school of experience. He was engaged in clerking in a clothing
store at Newcastle and there remained until 1888, when he came
to Seattle and has since been interested in the growing northwest and
its wonderful development. He became identified with the business affairs of
Seattle as a clothing salesman, and continued in that line until 1892, when he
went to Tacoma, remaining a resident of the latter city until 1897. In that
year he returned to Seattle, where he resided until 1900, when he came to
Everett.
In September, 1900, Mr. Clarke was united in marriage to Miss
Margaret Horsfall, a native of Illinois, wdio went to Tacoma during her girl-
hood days with her parents and located in that city in 1884. She is a daughter
of John and Kate Horsfall, both of whom are natives of England. The young
couple have many friends in Everett, having during their residence here
gained the confidence and good will of all with whom they have been brought
in contact. Mr. Clarke is quite well known in fraternal circles, being a mem-
ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Improved Order of
Red men and the Woodmen of the World. His political support is given to
the Republican party, and in 1902 he was elected justice of the peace of the
city of Everett for a term of two years. Mr. Clarke is a young man of
marked determination and force of character, and he possesses the enterprising
spirit so typical of the northwest. In his own business career he has brooked
no obstacles that could be overcome by determined effort and persistent pur-
pose, and along the legitimate lines of trade he has won creditable success.
ALPHEUS DAVIDSON.
One of the successful business men of Tacoma is Alpheus Davidson, the
proprietor of one of the leading drug stores in the city, in which is also
located the sub-postal station No. 7. He was born in Keptville, Canada, on
the 17th of December, 1858, and is of Scotch ancestry. He is a son of Alex-
ander and Alzira (Hicks) Davidson, natives respectively of Glasgow. Scot-
land, and of Canada. The father emigrated to Canada in his youth, where
he was engaged in contracting and building and also in the real estate bus-
iness, and he attained to the age of seventy-four years, passing away in death
in 1900, in the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which he had been long
a faithful and devoted member. His widow still survives, and has now
reached the age of sixty-six years. To this worthy couple were born six
children, three sons and three daughters, and the subject of this review is the
only representative of the family in Washington.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Vlpheus Davidson received his literary education in the public schools
ility, and is also a graduate of the Montreal College of
1 [e began his life work as a clerk in a drug store, and ere leaving
his native land he was for six years in the drug business on Ins own account.
business in Tacoma, Washington, on the corner of Eleventh
,.t avenue, where he has ever since enjoyed a large and
lucrative patronage. Since his arrival in this city twelve years ago, he has
; , many of its leading interests, and has done all in his
promote its progress and improvement. He is now serving as secre-
v of the Retail Druggists' Association; is vice president of the Pacific Oil
Well Company— three wells are now being sunk; is a stockholder in the large
natch erected in Tacoma; and is an executive officer of the
Musi ; institution which reflects much credit on the city and
which ha the upport of a number of the best citizens of Tacoma.
. tee of this institution. 1 lis political support is given to the
men and measures of the Republican party.
In i- elel ited the marriage of .Mr. Davidson and Miss Gertrude
Lawn Ltive of Quebec, Canada, and a daughter of George W.
n ■.. e. ' >ne son has been horn to this union, to whom has been given the
f Guy Lawrence. Mrs. Davidson is the secretary of the Home for
an Children, having been connected with this humane institution during
-t four years, and she is also a valued member of the Episcopal church.
s religious preference is indicated by his membership with the
•rian denomination, and in his fraternal relations he is a member of the
nd Protective < Irder of Elks, the Foresters and the Royal Tribe
1 fe enjoys the high regard of his fellow men, and is widely and
rably known throughout Tacoma and Pierce county.
llo.X. RALPH O. DUNBAR.
of the law, when clothed with its true dignity, purity
i, inu>t rank first among the callings of men. for law rules the
i- work of the legal profession is to formulate, to harmonize, to
si. to administer those rules and principles that underlie and
eminent a ety and control the varied relations of men.
the legal profession a nobleness that can-
I in the life of the true lawyer, who, rising to the responsi-
n, embraces the richness of learning, the firmness of
morals, together with the graces and modesty and
1 If such a type is Judge Dunbar a representa-
a de< member of the supreme court of the state,
ms as chief justice of Washington, and the honors
n him have been worthily won and well worn.
Schuyler count). Illinois, his birth having
\pril. [845. Me comes of Scotch ancestry, and his
ian, while his father. Uice Dunbar, was
['he killer was :, carpenter and builder, and. removing to
1 lowed his chosen vocation for a number
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 135
of years. He was married in that state to Miss Jane Miller Brisbin, a native
of Pennsylvania, descended from one of the old Dutch families of that state.
Nine children were horn to them in Illinois, and in 1846 Rice Dunbar
brought his wife and children across the plains to Oregon, journeying with
an ox team. Mr. Dunbar was chosen captain of the company, and with them
traveled the Donner party, who eventually left the Dunbar party to take a
cut-off, and met with great disaster and loss of life, which has become an
incident of the history of those times. Mr. Dunbar's party traveled through
the Klamath country and on the 1st of January, 1S47, arrived in Oregon.
They had all of their stock stolen from them by the Indians, and hence
were obliged to leave their wagons and many of their necessary articles. The
Judge's mother rode an old horse, the only one they had, and carried the
future jurist, then an infant in his first year. When they arrived in Salem
they were without money and provisions, and they lived that first winter
almost entirely upon boiled peas. The country was full of savage Indians,
and the women were constantly in a state of terror. Added to this were many
hardships and privations. The poorest grade of sugar sold for a dollar per
pound and other provisions were equally high, so that the family suffered
greatly for want of the things to which they had previously been accustomed.
Separated far from their former home and friends, constantly facing danger
and doing without what had hitherto seemed necessary to their daily existence,
the condition of these worthy pioneers was anything but enviable, and it
is to them and others that the state owes the foundation upon which has been
reared the superstructure of her present prosperity and greatness. The sacri-
fices they made and the hardships they endured were the means of opening up
this region to a latter civilization, and to them is due a debt of gratitude that
can never be repaid.
Mr. Dunbar began to work at his trade, building sawmills, gristmills
and houses, but times continued hard with the pioneers, and in 1849 he went
to the gold fields of California, hoping that there he might more rapidly
acquire a competency. The wife and children were thus left almost entirely
at the mercy of the savages. He had taken a donation claim ten miles east
of Salem, and after mining for some time in the Shasta gold diggings he
returned to his family and claim. Improving the property, he transformed it
into a fine farm and continued to reside thereon until 1869, when he removed
to Salem, where he made his home until his death, which occurred in 187 1,
when he was sixty-nine years of age. He was a brave, strong man, but much
exposure and hard toil shortened his life. He had ever been a lover of liberty,
and was a strong Republican from the organization of the party. His faith-
ful pioneer wife departed this life in 1858, at the age of forty-nine years.
She was a member of the Methodist church, and was a very conscientious,
good Christian woman. The children who crossed the plains were Mary
Ellen, Eliza Jane. William Rice, Delia and Ralph Oregon, the last-named
being the Judge, to whom the second name was given because he was brought
across the plains in his first year. Three children were born in Oregon, Oscar,
Elizabeth and Frances. The three sons are living and two of the daughters.
Eliza J. became the wife of Clark Crandle and since his death has become
Mrs. Reynolds, her home being in Los Gatos, California; Elizabeth is the
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
widow of Kirk Ward, and resides in Seattle; William Rice is register of the
land office at Vancouver.
Judge Dunbar was educated in the Willamette University, and while
acquiring his education also engaged in teaching for two years. He read law
in Salem, and in Olympia was admitted to the bar in 1867, and began the
practice oi his profession in Olympia, being admitted to practice before the
supreme court in 1807. His success came soon because his equipment was
i. because he prepared his cases with great thoroughness and precision
and because of his earnest devotion to the interests of his clients. He con-
tinued in active practice until 1869, in which year he was appointed clerk of
the I nited States district court by Chief Justice Orange Jacobs, filling that
until 1871. lie then resigned and removed to Yakima, where he again
opened an office and soon secured a distinctively representative clientage. In
[875 he became a resident of The Dalles, Oregon, where he practiced for two
years, and in 1S77 he established his home and opened his office in Golden-
dale. Washington. The following year he was elected a member of the terri-
luncil and was also elected probate judge of Klickitat county. In
[880 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Klickitat, Kittitas, Yakima,
( larke and Skamania counties, and his prompt and faithful discharge of his
duties won him high commendation. In 1885 he was elected to represent his
district in the lower house of the territorial legislature, and upon the as-
sembling of the house was chosen speaker. He also served for several terms
i f attorney of Goldendale, and each position which he filled found him a
capable and trustworthy incumbent, so that his popularity constantly grew as
the people recognized Ins worth. From 1880 until 1886 Judge Dunbar was
ed.,tor and proprietor of the Goldendale Sentinel, strongly supporting the
pnn< the Republican party. In 1889 he represented the eleventh dis-
trict in the constitutional convention and took an important part in framing
the organic law ol the state, i [e was the chairman of the committee on tide
government lands, and was the author of the constitutional article on
7'1" " ' ■ ' ' : ' ». at the first state convention, he was a prominent can-
ate. '"' ' °ngress and lacked only three votes of securing the nomination
in the same convention be was unanimously nominated for the position of
supreme judge, to which important office he was elected by a lar°-e ma-
in January, [893, after serving three years as associate justice he
"fawJ°,Sen '>' hlS :r Ui:iU' mCmberS °f thc court of aPPeals as chief justice
','' U *n »ng for a term of five years was re-elected in
n in 1900, so that he has served upon the supreme bench of his
re than a dei
II demonstrated bis ability to handle the intricate
'■'■ "ll1 are Present< ' tothe '•"'" of last resort. The leeal Profession
':;;T:-{ h*g "nK" ty> and the j"'1— ■ ^J^tr^"
mbination oi talent, learning, tact, patience and industry The
"' ltl.,o „„,,,,„. judge must' be a man of winced
miliar with the law and practice, of comprehensive
'' ^fr,at" 3ed "'" an analytical mind and a s^SSftS
v.ll enable .,,,,, to lose his individuality, his persona, Feelings his preTudice
ind l„s peculiarities ol disposition in the dignity, impartiality and equity o
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 137
the office to which life, property, right and liberty must look for protection.
Possessing these qualifications, Judge Dunbar justly merits the high honor
which has been conferred upon him in his thrice-repeated election to the
supreme court of Washington.
In 1873, in Yakima county, Judge Dunbar was united in marriage to
Miss Clara White, a native of Portland, Oregon, and a daughter of William
N. White, a pioneer of 185 1, who was murdered by the Indians in 1856. The
Judge and Mrs. Dunbar have three children, Fred, Ruth and John, all still
at home with their parents. Mrs. Dunbar is a valued member of the Con-
gregational church. During his earlier life, while not on the bench,
the Judge was a very active Republican, doing much campaign work to pro-
mote the success of his party and its principles, but he never allows political
labors or partisanship to interfere in the slightest degree with the faithful per-
formance of his duties. He has always taken a lively interest in hue stock,
both horses and cattle, and he finds pleasure and needed recreation in the
supervision of his fine stock farm of two hundred and eighty acres, a few
miles distant from Olympia. He is raising some fine imported red polled
cattle, of which he has some choice prize animals, and he also has on another
farm a band of Jersey cattle. For some years he has also bred good horses
of the Hambletonian, Membrino and Altamont stock. During the periods
of his summer rest he takes great delight in camping at this farm. The Judge
and his family have a nice home in Olympia, and he has a very wide acquaint-
ance throughout the state. He is justly regarded as one of the most eminent
jurists of the northwest, deserving the high encomiums which are bestowed
upon his life work by the members of the profession and the general public.
FRED A. HEGG.
Fred A. Hegg, a member of the Union Mercantile Company, dealers in
general merchandise at Sedro Woolley, Washington, is a native of Iowa, born
at Decorah, December 22, i860. His parents are natives of Norway. Anton
Hegg, his father, came to America when a young man and engaged in farm-
ing, which occupation he followed successfully for a number of years. He
is now living retired in Decorah, Iowa. His wife, whose maiden name was
Gunhilda Olson, was born in Drammond, Norway. Their family of three
sons and two daughters are now settled in homes of their own. Oscar is a
resident of Leroy, Minnesota; Adolph is on the old homestead in Iowa; Char-
lotte is the wife of Andrew Sagen, of Lacrosse, Wisconsin; Henrietta is the
wife of Eric Solland, of Decorah, Iowa.
Fred A. Hegg was educated in the public schools of his native town and
at, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, where he graduated in 1878.
After his graduation Mr. Hegg began his business career as a clerk in a
general merchandise store in Decorah, Iowa, and was thus occupied there
for four years. In 1882 he went to Colorado and a year later to Oregon, in
the latter state giving his attention to farming and carrying on agricultural
pursuits until 1889. That year he came to Washington, and at Fairhaven
started a grocery store, which he conducted two years. He came to Sedro
Woolley in 1891 and established himself in the grocery business, and, with
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
rt time when he dealt in hardware, he has been in the
nee In [893 he bought an interest in the Green
lingle Company, and the new firm took the name of the Union Mercantile
and its cers are as follows: Emerson Hammer, president;
skey, vice president; A. W. Davison, treasurer; and F. A. Hegg,
tary.
Mr. Hegg was first married in t886 to Miss Mollie Douglass, a daughter
[On g n. She died in 1896, leaving four children, two
1 two daughters, William Anton, Earle, May and Mildred. In 1899
I Miss Fannie Bishop, a native of Indiana, and their union
ed in the birth of a daughter. Florence, and a son. Mr. Hegg is
I .utheran church and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
DR. ROBERT K1NCAID.
To feel in the closing days of his long life that he has followed nature's
laws that he has not lived for self alone, that he has helped and up-
many of his fellow men, and that through trials and difficulties he
- won a high and honored position in society, all these things and many
the rewards plendid career of Robert Kincaid, who stands
in the front rank of physicians and surgeons in Olympia. No estimate too
h can be set on the works of such a man, and it is hoped that the brief
I of the main events of his career, which is all that can be attempted in
I this kind, will be an incentive to those who come after him to
higher and nobler living, fur it is in biography alone that the best stimulus
und.
Kincaid was George Kincaid, who owned a large
• in North Ireland; his Forefathers were of Scotch descent, and settled
in Ireland during the reign of King James the First, about the year 1609.
beth Virtue, of English stock. George Kincaid died in
s thirty sixth year, when our subject was only four years of age. The
I ttle family of three sons and a daughter, emigrated
nd took up her residence in Petersburg, where she lived till
her death in ! iv sixth year, and over her last resting place her grate-
ful children hav< a beautiful monument. One of the sons, John,
ernmenl office in Canada.
born on the 10th day of June, 1832, in the famous
il, North Ireland, a country which has given us four of our
He was trained for life's work in the Queen's University and
in the 1. rtment in 1862 with the degree of M. D. He
ted States and served as surgeon in the army during
of the ( 1. il war, at Washington and on Governor's Island,
1 tor of the state of Maine. Returning
the ill health of his mother, he engaged in the
cine in Petersburg for a quarter of a century. During this
1 the citj of Petersburg, surgeon of that county, sur-
ind Rail Canada, and surgeon of the troops with
nel in the British army. And in the course of twenty-
1 re he held every office in the gift of the people of his
. HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 139
city and county, and was finally elected member of the Canadian parliament.
Owing to ill health he was forced to give up his residence here and
seek a more salubrious climate, finally selecting Olympia, where he settled in
1888. His health immediately improved, and he has since engaged in the
practice of his profession, gaining eminent success. The Doctor invested
in lands and made a fortune, but with many others in the great financial
panic in 1893 'ost most of his gains. But feeling that he must above all give
his children an education, he sent them to the Washington State University,
the mother going with them to provide a home.
Dr. Kincaid's marriage had occurred in 1865, and his wife was Mar-
garet Bell, a daughter of James Bell, manager of the Commercial Bank of
Canada and register of the county of Lanark. They are the parents of
five children : The eldest son, Traver Charles Digby, is now professor of
zoology in the Washington State University and is regarded as one of the
most scientific men in the country for his years ; the daughter, Loe Rowena,
is a graduate of the university with the class of 1901 and is a large con-
tributor to the magazines and periodicals ; Kenneth George is in the hospital
service of the regular army, was in charge of •thej'Presidio hospital in San
Francisco and with the famous United -States ' Fourth Cavalry, and is now
at Angel's Island, California, examining 'sdl'diers' from the Philippines, thus
without doubt having a bright futiire before him ; the oldest son has a
mechanical genius and is employed as engineer by the Northern Pacific Rail-
road at Seattle ; and the ten-year-old daughter, Airdrie, who was born in
Olympia, is attending school at Seattle and is at the head of her class, giving
promise of being the brightest one of a very bright family.
Doctor Kincaid is the oldest man in the medical profession in the city ;
he is the physician and a member of about ten of the fraternal societies of
Olympia, is the health officer, and president of the pension board. While
in Canada he was deputy grand master of the Masonic order. Although
past the age of threescore and ten, he still enjoys remarkably good health and
attends to his large practice with all the vigor of youth. He has had a long
career as physician, and night or day, snushine or storm, he has always
been ready to go to the aid of the suffering, and the gratitude of those he
has aided has been more precious to him than all pecuniary rewards; and
in this lies the secret of his success, that he has ever been willing to lend
a helping hand, and, although reverses have come to him, and his life has
not been a bed of roses, he now holds the esteem of all because of his noble
and sincere character.
NORRIS ORMSBY.
The business interests of the city of Sedro Woolley, Washington, has
an enterprising factor in the subject of this review, Norris Ormsby. Mr.
Ormsby was born October 24, 1856, in Shelby county, Illinois, and comes of
Irish and Scotch ancestry. His father. John J. Ormsby, was a native of the
Emerald Isle and a respected citizen of this country. While filling the office
of sheriff of Fremont county, Iowa, in June, 1866, he was killed while in the
140 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
i arresting a man charged with murder. Mr. Ormsby's mother, Nancy
(Martin) Ormsby, was born in Indiana, of Scotch descent, her family having
long resided in America. John J. and Nancy Ormsby reared a family of six
children, thro and three daughters, all of whom are now residents of
the state of Washington, except one daughter, Ion, who is married and settled
on a farm in Oregon. The other daughters reside in Sedro Woolley, they
being ( lara, wife of B. L). Vandevaer, and Minnie, wife of F. A. Douglass,
a druggist. John Ormsby is engaged in the saloon business in Sedro Wool-
ley, and \\ illiam ( >rmsby is a farmer in Washington.
Norris Ormsb) received his education in the public schools of Iowa, to
which state his parents moved when he was a small boy. At the early age of
ten years he began to support himself. His first employment was in a dry
goods store, where he worked for four or five years, after which he was for
sixteen years in a livery stable. Leaving Iowa, he went to Kansas, where
he remained two years, and thence came to his present location in Washington.
Here he engaged in the drug business with his brother-in-law, F. A. Doug-
but at the end of one year sold out and turned his attention to draying,
buying a span of mules and dray, and in this business he has been engaged
ever since. Subsequently he opened up a feed store, dealing in hay and
grain and also coal, which he has conducted successfully, having as his partner
In- son-in law, J. B. Holbrook.
Mr. ( (rmsby is a Democrat, and in local politics has always taken an active
nice he came west, lie has been representative to county conventions,
and has been on the city council oi Woolley and Sedro ever since they were
porated. When these towns were consolidated he was elected mayor.
Prior to the i ition he was mayor of Woolley two terms. At present
he is a member ui the council. Public-spirited and enterprising and with an
earnesl de ire to promote the best interests of the people of the town, Norris
s influence has for years been felt in the locality in which he lives.
Mr. Ormsby was married .May 11. 1878, in Atchison county, Missouri,
Talliferro, a native of Monroe county, Missouri, of French
nt. The) have one daughter, Hallie, who is the wife of J. B. Holbrook.
ernally Mr. Ormsby is identified with the Knights of Pythias and
l< 5,
GEORGE J. HOHL.
I Hohl, 1 prosperous dealer in hay and grain, was born Feb-
in Hokah, Houston county, Minnesota, and is a son of Jacob
a native of I iermany, who came to this country as a boy. By trade he
mith, and died in [864 in the service of the federal army, Fifty-
1 Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. His wife was Catherine Buehle'r Hohl,
a native ol Germany, now living in Hokah, Minnesota. The children born
ll"111 ;""1 wife wen John J., a land agent at Minong, Wisconsin;
i.-mi R., a railroad man in southern Minnesota; Henry L., a wholesale
1 lei in llo„ ton, lexas; Charles \\ .. land and oil agent in Hous-
'•'v: ' J I I mma, wife of W. II. Whittaker, job printer of St
II ; MlSS Katie A., at home in Hokah. Minnesota.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 141
George J. Hohl was educated in the public schools of Hokah, and gradu-
ated from the high school in 1881. After this he spent one year in the
Wilson Business College at Lacrosse, Wisconsin. His next step was the
serving of an apprenticeship in a flour mill at Hokah, and he then went to
Duluth, Minnesota, where he worked for the St. Paul & Pacific Coal Com-
pany as foreman. In 1886 he located at Bellingham Bay, when there were
very few people in this locality, and as soon as the town of Fairhaven was
organized he moved here, and took up a pre-emption claim one and one-half
miles from the city limits. In 1897 he was 'one of the stampeders to Dawson,
going over the White Pass or Skagway trail, and, after two years, went the
second time with a six-dog team and drove six hundred miles, and was frozen
in with the thermometer registering fifty degrees below zero. The first winter
he mined, and the second year he operated a sawmill. In 1899 ne returned
to Fairhaven and engaged in a wholesale and retail grain, hay and feed
business.
Politically Mr. Hohl is a Republican; was school director of Fairhaven
from 1891 to 1897, and has always taken an active part in local affairs, serving
as delegate to county conventions. During the year 1901 he was mayor of
Fairhaven, and held that office in a manner to inspire respect and confidence.
In addition to his other interests Mr. Hohl was one of the organizers of the
Alger Oil and Mineral Company of Fairhaven, which was established in 1901
with a capital of three hundred thousand dollars; he was made its president
and general manager and has held the position ever since.
On November 18, 1890, Mr. Hohl was married to Mrs- Nellie Eggloff,
a daughter of M. J. Rogers, of Saginaw, Michigan, and a native of Chicago,
coming of an old American family of Scotch ancestry. One son has been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Hohl, namely: Ross J. Eggloff Hohl, aged nineteen
years. Mr. Hohl is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen
and Ancient Order of United Workmen, and is very popular in all these
organizations. Through steadfast industry, uprightness of character and an
ability to make his work count, Mr. Hohl has steadily mounted the ladder of
fortune, and is numbered among the successful men of Fairhaven.
CHARLES A. DARLING.
Charles A. Darling, a leading representative of the dental profession in
Whatcom, Washington, and a man of prominence in the community, was born
May 14, 1869, at Portage, Wisconsin, and is a son of James M. and Clara
(Kellum) Darling. The father was a native of New York, born of an old
American family, and engaged in mining and dealt extensively in real estate.
He is now a resident and prominent business man of Fairhaven. His wife
was born in Connecticut, and also came of good American stock, grafted on
English ancestry. Two children were born to these parents, namely, our
subject, and Dwight K., now one of the leading druggists of Everett,
Washington.
Charles A. Darling received his early education in Hammond Hall. Salt
Lake City, from which he was graduated in 1885, whence he went to Phila-
delphia and entered the dental college of that city. In 1890 he was graduated
Mi' HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
from that institution, and returned to Fairhaven, where for two years he
on, having heen admitted to practice by the state board
of examiners. In [892 he removed to Whatcom, and has built up a very
e and lucrative practice, which is constantly increasing, and his patients
are numb the very best people of the city. For the years 1897,
[898 and [899 he was a member of the board of dental examiners, and in
.i'ii] iN<)o, was its president, lie is a member of the State Dental So-
. and was president of that organization in 1896. In politics he is a
Democrat, and has always taken an active part in party matters, and for the
ears has been a delegate to all the county conventions except in
I [e was sent to the national convention held in Chicago in 1896, which
nominated Brj an.
1 in September 5, [898, Dr. Darling was married to Miss Mable Stude-
vant Byrne, a daughter of a successful real estate dealer in Kansas. The
Byrne family is well known and dates back to Revolutionary days. Mrs.
I >arling's gri I grandfather on the maternal side was Zebulon Pike,
after whom Pike's Peak was named. Her grandmother, Sarah Studevant,
now residing in Lamed, Kansas, is the last lineal descendant in that state of
mous Pike. Mr. and Mrs. Darling are consistent members of the Epis-
d church, and Dr. Darling is one of (he vestrymen of that body.
In addition to li other interests. Dr. Darling is president of the Homan
Lumber Company of Fairhaven, operating two shingle mills and a sawmill,
1 \ of one hundred and sixty thousand shingles per day. The
company owns considerable timber land adjoining the plant, and Dr. Darling
ganizers in 1901. He was one of the organizers and is now
president of the Samish Oyster Company, with beds in Samish bay,
which they planted an I cultivated. The company have eight hundred and
thirl mouth of Samish river, and will be prepared to place
product upon the market next year, probably about one hundred and
Mr Darling is our 0f the charter members of the Cougar Club.
' 1 lub of Whatcom, and he is also a member of the Commer-
'luh of Fairhaven. There are few men in Whatcom who either in a
ense have done more than the doctor in so short a
! of time, to increase tin- prosperity of tin- city, or have so firmly estab-
lished themselves in the confidence and respect of the people of that locality.
WILL] \M II. PINCKNEY.
n 1 1 Pinckney, police magistrate of Blaine, Washington, was born
' Salem, Washtenaw county, Michigan, and is a son of
Pini ' :■ e of New York state. One of the early members
Pinckney, who was sent to represent the colonies in
'",:i B. 1 was colonel of the Second Regiment of the
militia during tin- Black I lawk war, and died in 1897 in Blaine
years. Mis wife bore the maiden name
■ and wa 1 oncord, New Hampshire; both of her
in the Revolutionary war, their names being Major
s and Major Church. Major MMS was one of the participants' in
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 143
the battle of Bunker Hill, and both gentlemen were from the state of New-
Hampshire, of Scotch descent, and died in New Hampshire. The children
born to Joshua B. Pinckney and wife were as follows: John M., in the book
and stationer}' business since 1864 in Sioux City. Iowa; Albert M. resides in
Blaine; Charles died in Iowa; our subject; Charlotte married S. P. Hughes,
now retired, in Blaine; Mary, widow of Isaac Griswold, resides in San
Francisco.
William H. Pinckney was educated in the public schools of Iowa and
Michigan, although the greater part of his practical knowledge was on the
frontier. During his school life all of his leisure moments were put in on
the farm, and he later devoted all of his time to it. He was driven from the
farm at the time of the Minnesota massacre in 1862, and in September of
that same year he and his brother John enlisted in Company E, Northern
Border Brigade. The state called for five companies, and they mustered them
in without any delay and started them for the frontier of Iowa and Dakota,
Captain Jerome M. White being in command of Company E. After serving
with Compariy E one year, Mr. Pinckney then served in Company L, Seventh
Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, with Captain S. P. Hughes in command, and he
received his honorable discharge in February, 1866. He participated in the
northwestern Indian expedition under General Alfred Sully, and saw some
very hard service. In 1866 he went back to the farm, remaining until 1873,
but he found he had grown beyond the limits of a quiet life, and went west
to Blaine, Washington, purchasing forty acres of land. In 1878 he went to
Seattle, and for three years served on the police force there, but resigned, and
in 1888 embarked in a real estate business, which he continued until 1894
and then retired to a ranch in Semahmoo which he had purchased fifteen
years before. Ever active and progressive, Mr. Pinckney did not remain
long upon bis ranch, but in 1899 opened up a real estate and insurance office
in Blaine and has been very successful in his various operations ever since.
In political convictions Mr. Pinckney is a Populist, but has been associated
with the Democratic party, and in Iowa was clerk of Sioux township for four
years; was appointed sheriff of Plymouth county, Iowa, and served two
years; was also assessor of Sioux township for three years, and during the
same time was also clerk; was justice of the peace of Semahmoo township,
Whatcom county, for two years, and justice of the peace of Blaine two years,
and for three terms was appointed nolice justice.
On March 24, 1873, Mr. Pinckney was married to Anna J. Jackson, a
daughter of Andy Jackson, of Pennsylvania, and she was born in that state.
The Jackson family is of Scotch-Irish descent and played an important part
in the Revolutionary war. One son, John Jackson, was born to Mr. and
Mrs. Pinckney in May, 1876, and he is now admitted to practice law. Mr.
Pinckney is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, being con-
nected with that order for twenty-two years; of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, since 1S74, and is also a member of the Grand Army post. Few
men in this locality have done more to develop the Puget Sound district, and
to induce financiers to locate in that neighborhood and increase the material
prosperity of the state, than the distinguished man whose name heads this
memoir.
11! HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
GEORGE C. ISRAEL.
The Israel family is of Welsh and Pennsylvania Dutch extraction on
the paternal side, and Scotch and Irish on the maternal side. The original
this family in America, Isaac G. Israel, sailed with William
Penn, and that worthy settler took an active part in the first Pennsylvania
my. And later on in the history of the country we find that the mother
of the famous General Israel Putnam was an Israel, and that several mem-
bers of the family distinguished themselves in the Revolution.
William C. Israel, the Father of George C was born in the Old Domin-
ion -tali', and from there in [849, moved by the wonderful reports of the
new Eldorado in the west, came to California and engaged for three years
in mining and prospecting; he was the discoverer of the Diablo coal mines.
In 1853 he returned to Missouri and Illinois and brought across the first
band of American bulls, and engaged extensively in the importation and rais-
Mi ican cattle, After his discovery of coal he again went east and
iroughl back machinery and opened the Tutonia mine, which he conducted
illy for a time, and then sold out and until 1881 followed the then
profitable star routing. In that year he came to Washington and followed
raising, lie became a man of much influence in the state and was
one of the county commissioners who built the magnificent Thurston county
court house, which was afterward sold to the state and became, with a few
additions, the present capitol building. His wife was Hannah Olmstead,
a native of New Hampshire, and of their two sons and three daughters all
are now living and three reside in Washington, namely: James McDaniel,
it pector and resides in Olvmpia ; Elsie, now Mrs. Win-
of I lush Prairie; and George C, whose sketch immediately
The death of the father occurred in 189s at the age of sixty-eiffht
The birthplace of George fsrael is in Antioch, Contra Costa county
norma, where his birth occurred on the 20th of October, 1858. He at-
ided the St. Man's I 1 San Francisco and graduated in 1878 He
then "'•", Ifw '" H of Hon. Davis S. Terry in Stockton. California
• admitted to practice in December, 1880; until Tune, 1881 he was
\ '["Strict attorne) in that place, lie then came to Olympia, where he
' and had a very lucrative practice. In' 1880, going to
! I <<l 'aw and was in the legal department of the
• Radway. Since 1S07 he has resided in Olympia and has
■ clientele, including several large corporations and the Northern
l acme Railroad.
Mr. Israel has been a stanch Republican, but in 1806 he
V,"C.e(l 5,Soin<lepei lv voting with ""' silver wing of the party
i^/V^Vrir -er allegiance. In 1895 he bLune the'hi
- York. They live in a beautiful
V m;":i' fW* "' manj comforts of life and their numerous
, •„:';?; ,S' , llnected fth the Independent Order of Odd
""' ,lu Elks' He ,s :| man ol independent and resolute character
A O, <&Oxm^
PlJ8LJC LIBRARY
nU)W«W«OATIOHS
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 145
and enjoys the reputation of being one of the most prominent criminal law-
yers in the state of Washington.
ABRAHAM WOOLMAN ENGLE.
From early manhood the subject of this sketch has been a resident of
Seattle, Washington, has aided in its growth and development and shared in
its prosperity, and ranks to-day with its leading citizens.
Abraham Woolman Engle was born March 4, 1851, in Burlington
county, New Jersey, and belongs to a well known and highly respected family.
The record shows that four brothers of the name of Engle came to this coun-
try from Saxony in the year 1683 and made their settlements in New Jersey,
Virginia and Pennsylvania. The one who located in New Jersey was the
progenitor of a large family. One of his descendants, Abraham W. Engle,
was the father of our subject, was born in Burlington county, and was by
occupation a merchant, dealing in general merchandise, lumber and coal, and
also owning some coasting schooners that ran between Philadelphia and the
Carolinas. He died in 1861. His wife, Sarah C., was before marriage Miss
Engle, she being a distant relative, and she, too, was a native of New Jersey.
She died in 1883.
The younger Abraham W. Engle was educated in the public and private
schools of his native state, finishing his schooling in 1869. Then he spent
two years in assisting in the settlement, of "life fatlier's estate, after which, in
February, 1871, he came west to Puget Sound, seeking a change of climate
on account of illness. He spent one year on Whidby Island in a successful
effort to regain his health. The next four' years lie was in the employ of the
Bellingham Bay Coal Company at Whatcom, where, with Sutcliff Baxter, he
had charge of the company's mercantile business; ' In 1876 he took up the
study of law, and in 1878 was admitted to practice in the supreme court of
the territory of Washington. He practiced in Seattle until 1884, when his
attention was turned to banking; he became associated with Judge J. R. Lewis
and M. V. -B. Stacey and established the First National Bank of North
Yakima and the First National Bank of Ellensburg. Of the former Mr.
Engle was cashier at the time of organization and subsequently was made
president, which latter office he filled until 1896. In 1895 he accepted the
position of business manager of the northwestern agency of the Mutual Life
Insurance Company of New York, with headquarters in Seattle, which posi-
tion he still holds. However, he is yet interested in banking, being a director
of the Washington National Bank of Seattle. He has also for a number of
years been interested in real estate, and is the owner of valuable property.
In 1891, in company with Judge Lewis, he built one of the largest brick build-
ings in North Yakima, and, associated with C. D. Stimson, he lias just com-
pleted a brick hotel and business building, known as the Manning building,
corner Fourth and Union streets, Seattle. The residence he occupies he
built in 1888.
He was married November 18, 1882, to Miss Alice Warbass, daughter
of the late Dr. U. G. Warbass, of Olympia, Washington. She is a native of
Olympia. Her only surviving relative in this country is Judge E. 1). War-
ier"
ins ruin- of the puget sound country.
bass, of Friday Harbor. Mr. and Mrs. Engle have one daughter, Marian,
twelve years. Politically Mr. Engle is a Republican. He has always
taken a commendable interest in public affairs, frequently attending state and
ns of his party, but is not an office-seeker.
HON. J. W. ROBINSON.
For four generations the name Joseph has been the christian name of
the head of die Robinson family. This family originated in Scotland, for
many years resided in England, and came to this country in its early history,
taking up their settlement in Virginia. The first Joseph Robinson was a
prosperous Virginia merchant. His son, grandfather Joseph, was born on
the banks of the James river; he was a leading attorney and held several high
judicial ]■ death occurred in his ninety-fourth year.
father of the subject <.f this sketch, Joseph the third, was born on
f January, 1N11, was educated and reared in his native state until
bis nineteenth year, and then in 1830 came west to Clinton county, Ohio,
settling near Wilmington. He engaged successfully in stock-raising and
farming, and lived to he eighty-two years of age. His wife, Margaret Killen,
was a native of Kentuck} : her English ancestors were early settlers in Penn-
inia and her father. James Killen, was a Revolutionary officer, afterward
iiing a 1- 1 Kentucky. These parents had eight children, six sons
and two daughters. Two of the sons served in the Union army in the Civil
war. Jan :i, and Robert as a private, but later becoming a
lieutenant; the other male members of the Family were lawyers, doctors and
in the east except the subject of this sketch.
ill William Robinson was ushered into the world near Wilmington,
5. [855. In the excellent schools of his state he was edu-
cated, and in the Lebanon (Ohio) Normal; he received his knowledge of
an State University. In 1883 he came to Olympia, which
he has made his I > r since. In this time he has built up a large and
icquired an enviable reputation in this honor-
1 1 ne 1 the best private libraries of professional works
in the city.
IN- has always been a Republican, and was elected and served for two
fey, when the district extended to the Columbia river.
In [890 Mr. Robinson wa chosi nperioi judge of Thurston county, and
known trial judge in the Mate, hut the duties were not
he re igned mi r8g !. Returning to active practice, he
■ Olympia, lie lias membership in the
. 111 the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World.
MATTHEW hi. HYXER.
,nrv> i". one of the pioneers of Edmonds, Washington, was
n northwestern Pennsylvania, near Tionesta. and is
tlso b m in Pennsylvania, and a lumberman by occu-
dm died in [886, The paternal grandfather was a soldier in the
HISTORY OE THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 147
continental army at Valley Forge with Washington. The family originated
in Germany, but was established here many years ago. The maiden name of
the mother was Harriet Ball, and she was born in Vermont and died in 1852,
having come of old English ancestry. Six children were born to these
parents, namely: our subject; Isaac, a farmer of Maryland; Clinton C, a
merchant of Vineland, New Jersey; Lavina, widow of H. H. Stone, residing
in Jamestown, New York; Mary married J. H. Dawler, of Holly Beach, New
Jersey ; Sarah, widow of G. R. Chambers, residing in Vineland, New Jersey.
Matthew E. Hyner was educated in the public schools of New Jersey
and Pennsylvania', and the State Normal School of Pennsylvania, concluding
his studies when he was twenty years of age, at which time he opened a drug
store at Unionville, Ohio, and conducted it for eight years. He then moved
to Vineland, New Jersey, and for one year was engaged in farming. His
next location was on the eastern shore of Maryland, where he conducted a
farm for a year. In 1878 he went to the southeastern part of Illinois and
operated a farm for eight years. In the spring of 1887 lie moved to Ed-
monds, Washington, and engaged in a grocery and provision business for six
or seven years, and also had the first express office in the place, known as
"The Northwestern." This was before the railroads had made connection
with Edmonds. Later he* disposed of his interests and has since then
lived retired.
On March 10, 1868, he married, in Vineland, New Jersey, Clara A.
Brown, born in Pennsylvania and a daughter of W. T. Brown, a merchant of
Union City, Pennsylvania, since deceased. The Brown family is Scotch-
English in origin, and Mr. Brown's grandmother on the paternal side of the
house was a Tiffany. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hyner,
namely: Paul B., in a cigar and tobacco business in Seattle; Robert W, a
mill proprietor; Ruth B. In religious ideas they are all members of the
Congregational church. Mr. Hyner is a Democrat and has represented his
party in state conventions for the past twelve years, and has been upon the
county central committee and to county conventions for many years. He
was appointed postmaster of Edmonds in 1888-90 and again in 1894-99.
When he came to Edmonds the place consisted of a little settlement of half
a dozen families. Through the many changes Mr. Hyner has borne his part
of assisting in the development and material advancement of this locality, and
is pointed to with pride as a very representative pioneer of the state.
John L. Hyner, a brother of our subject, served as a soldier through
the Civil war, and was under General Hooker. At the close of the conflict
he was sergeant. His company of volunteers was from New York, and was
practically wiped out of existence. Later he served as sheriff of Erie county,
Pennsylvania, and died in 1878.
MAJOR CHARLES O. BATES.
There is much variety and interest in the life history of Major Charles
O. Bates, who has passed the greater part of his life in different parts of the
Union, but for the past eleven years has been a resident of Tacoma, and is
a prominent lawyer there, and the deputy county attorney. His parents were
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Rev. Henry and Keziah (Chapman) Bates, and on both sides of the house
ineml • fought in the Revolutionary war. Rev. Henry was
in New England, while his wife was a native of Connecticut and is still
living at Crete. Nebraska. Henry came west at an early day, and after gradu-
ating iberlin College became a minister of the Congregational church,
lie was also a prominent educator and in later life removed to Crete, Ne-
braska, and was connected with Doane College. During his work there he
ed away at the age of seventy-five, in 1889. During the war he was a
unced anti-slaver) advocate, and as the section of Ohio in which he lived
rather favorable to slavery he was subjected to much persecution because
of his views.
While this worthy couple were residing in Goodrich, Michigan, the son
Charles ( ). was bom to them on May 31, 1855. A few years later the parents
took him to Canton. Illinois, where he received most of his education. He
went to Nebraska in 1S73. and at Beatrice carried out his intention of study-
ing law, gaining his knowledge of the profession in the office of Colby and
1 He was admitted to the bar by the supreme court of the state on
31, [878, and he first commenced practice as an attorney in Beatrice.
ed much ability and made himself popular, for he was county attorney
of Gage county for one term and also city clerk a!hd city attorney of Beatrice.
twelve years he was connected with the National Guard of Nebraska,
having entered as a private, and being successively promoted to first sergeant
and first lieutenant of his company, and later appointed adjutant of the First
nent, Nebraska National Guard. Upon the organization of the First
a le be v, assistant adjutant general with the rank of major,
11 he held until removing to the state of Washington.
In the winter of [890 and [89] he was with the First Brigade, Nebraska
National < iuard, in the war against the Sioux Indians in the Pine Ridge upris-
and in i' al reporl from Brigadier General L. W. Colby to the
Nebraska .Major Rates is warmly praised for the tact, patience,
endurance, and the ability with which he performed his duties in that
campaign.
Mr. B 1 na in [892, and has since been building up a
splendid practice in the city. He is a member of the firm of Bates and
Murray, who 310 Fidelity building. For the last three years he
has I n\ prosecuting attorney of Pierce county. He is one of the
most 1 1 the ranks of the Republican party, and is a zealous
|s:i" and a aker, being in great demand as a campaign orator. He
Elks, is a Mason, and a member of the Union Club
0 mmerce.
Mr. Bati 1 on December 23, [879, in Lincoln. Ne-
hru Miss Kate Gillette became his wife. They are the parents
of two children, I iman Bates and Russell Gillette Hates.
JOHN II. vnd J VMES II. MILHOLLIN.
From an early period in its development the Milhollin brothers have
ninently identified with the history of the Sound country, and none
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 149
more than they deserve a fitting recognition among those whose enterprise
and ability have achieved splendid results. The family is of Scotch and
German descent, and the paternal grandfather of our subjects. Jonathan Mil-
hollin, enlisted in the continental army for service in the Revolutionary war
when fourteen years of age, serving throughout the entire struggle to the
surrender at Yorktown. After the war he settled in Kentucky, but when
slaves were brought into that state, he, being an abolitionist, removed to
Springfield, Ohio, crossing the Ohio river in 1800, and he was the first justice
of the peace in Clark county. William Milhollin, his son and the father of
our subjects, was born in Lexington, Kentucky. He followed milling in
Ohio, and in 1853 moved to Cbamplin, Hennepin county, Minnesota, where
his death occurred on the 14th of January, 1871. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of Rebecca A. Henkle, was born in Springfield, Ohio, and is a
member of a prominent old American family, representatives of which took
part in the Revolutionary struggle. Six of her uncles were ministers of the
gospel, and one, Moses Henkle, was a famous literary and newspaper man.
The family is of Scotch-Dutch descent. Mrs. Milhollin is still living, having
reached the age of eighty-seven years, and she makes her home in Blaine.
John Henkle Milhollin was born in Springfield, Ohio, May 31, 1844,
and his education was received in the public schools of Minnesota. In his
youth he worked at farm labor on his father's farm and in scaling logs in the
river, thus continuing until 1869, when, on account of impaired health, he
went to California. Returning to Minnesota in 1872, he was thereafter en-
gaged in logging with his brother until 1882, during which time he was also
in the employ of the Mississippi & Rum River Boom Company. The year
1885 witnessed his arrival in Blaine, Washington, since which time he has
been prominently identified with its interests, but at the time of his arrival
this now thriving city contained but four houses and only a few were scat-
tered throughout the surrounding country. In 1886, in company with his
brother, he began the erection at Blaine of the first wharf built into deep
water, this enterprise being completed two years later, in 1888, and they also
erected for the city a seven hundred foot wharf on E street, the principal
wharf in the city. They constructed all the foundations for the original mills
and also furnished many piles for the fish traps. During the past few years
the elder brother has been engaged in scaling logs.
John H. Milhollin was married on the nth of October, 1884. to Mary
J. McPherson, the wedding being celebrated at St. Cloud, Minnesota. She
is a native of Ontario, Canada, but is a member of an old American family of
Scotch descent. One daughter, Rebecca, has graced this union. Mrs. Mil-
hollin has one sister and three brothers living in Washington : Ann Harvey,
of Seattle; Peter McPherson, an attorney of Republic; George McPherson,
a stockman of Bruster; and William McPherson, of Bruster, who followed
the flag to the sea under Sherman. In his fraternal relations Mr. Milhollin
is identified with Lodge No. 30, A. F. & A. M., of Anoka. Minnesota. He
was a member of the township board of Cbamplin, that state, and in 1897-8
served as a member of the city council of Blaine.
James Halsey Milhollin was born in Hennepin county. Minnesota, on
the 28th of June, 1856. His elementary education was received in the com-
L50 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
mon schools of his native locality, but this was supplemented by instruction
in Professor Archibald's Business College. After completing his studies he
in the logging business with his brother for ten years, during which
time he ■ ; loyed throughout the summer months with the Mississippi
& Rum River Boom Company. From 1883 until 1S86 he followed agricul-
tural pursuits, and in the latter year came to Blaine, Washington, where for
the past three years he has been engaged in getting out piles on his own ac-
count. The brothers have constructed several residence buildings in Blaine,
opened several streets and in 1S88 built the California Creek bridge.
The ' have exerted a wide influence in affairs pertaining to the develop-
ment ami improvement of this section, and throughout the entire period of
their residence in the Evergreen state have been held in high esteem. James
11. Milhollin gives his political support to men and principle rather than party
and is independent, hut ha- served as a delegate to many county conventions.
In [892 he was made a member of the city council of Blaine, receiving every
' with the exception of twelve, and during the years of 1888, 1889
and [89b served as a member of the school board. In his fraternal relations
he is a member of the Independent Order of Good Templars.
' In the 6th of October, 1884, at Champlin, Minnesota, Mr. Milhollin was
united in marriage to Miss Minnie C. Faber. a daughter of Nicholas and
Catherine Faber and a native of Jackson enmity, Iowa. Two sons came to
bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Milhollin, Clayton F., born in 1886, and
llenkle, born in 1902.
COLONEL FRANK C. R< >SS.
many years Colonel Frank C. Ross has been numbered among the
representative citizens and business men of Tacoma; and throughout the
period of it- development he has been an important factor in the improvement
and advancement of this section of the state, being also concerned with the
broader interests which have had to do with the welfare of the commonwealth.
A native son of the Prairie state, Mr. Ross was born at Pittsfield, Pike
county, Illinois, March 20, [858, and is the son of Marcellus and Martha A.
Ross. A- one reviews the history of that commonwealth and
s into the pasi to >.■ who were prominent in its early development, he
will find that for many years the name of Ross was closely connected with
the p: and advancement of then' section of the state. The paternal
frandfathi ubject, Colonel William Ross, was born at Munson,
sachusetts, April, [792. lie served as ensign in the war of 1812, and
m the battle at Sacketts Harbor. His brother, Leonard Ross,
tain of a company in the -aim- regiment. Colonel William Ross
left Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in the year 1S20, in company with his four
brothers, Captain Leonard, Dr. Henry J., John and Clarendon Ross, and
i" <; ounty, when it embraced that part of the state west
of the Illinois river on a hi , to the northwest corner of Indiana, taking
'» th< e of 1 hicago. General Steadman, of Beardstown, Illinois.
jsioned William Ross as colonel to raise a regiment to serve in the
Black Hawk war, to rendezvous al Beardstown. Abraham Lincoln was corn-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 151
missioned captain of a company in the same regiment. Colonel Ross and
Abraham Lincoln were delegates to the first national Republican convention
held at Philadelphia in June, 1856, where John C. Fremont was nominated
for president and William L. Dayton for vice president. Colonel Ross was
also a delegate to the national convention at Chicago, June 15, i860, where
Lincoln was nominated for president on the third ballot. Colonel Ross and
Abraham Lincoln went as delegates to the state convention when Richard
Yates, the "war horse," was nominated for governor. As Governor Yates
and Colonel Ross were walking along the street one day, Colonel Ross said
"I hear Mr. Lincoln's footsteps," and leu iking back they saw him coming up.
Colonel Ross grasped Mr. Lincoln by the hand and said to him: "I think
you had better go with us and help nominate a president." To this Mr. Lin-
coln replied: "My better judgment tells me I better not." When Abra-
ham Lincoln was president he often visited Colonel Ross and consulted him
on important questions. One was on issuing the emancipation proclamation.
Colonel Ross told Mr. Lincoln, when discussing the subject, not to let the sun
go down before he issued the proclamation. Colonel Ross served eight years
in the Illinois senate and succeeded in getting a number of important bills
for the welfare of the state. He was the founder of the town of Pittsfield,
Illinois, now the county seat of Pike count}-, naming the place after Pittsfield.
Massachusetts, the birthplace of Mrs. Marcellus Ross. He died at Pittsfield,
Illinois, May 31, 1873.
Marcellus Ross, the father of our subject, was the first white male child
born in greater Pike county, that event occurring November 11, 1824. The
first Masonic lodge in all this large district was organized and held in Colonel
Ross's residence, and the hickory gavel used on that historic occasion is now
one of the keepsakes of the subject of this sketch. Before the breaking out
of the Indian war, Black Hawk, the great chief, was a frequent visitor at
the Ross home and often carried Marcellus Ross in his arms. Mr. Ross be-
came a wealth}' and prominent business man and farmer in Pike count}', and
was engaged in flour milling and woolen manufacturing and other enterprises.
He left Pike county with his family in 188 1, and settled in San Jose, Cali-
fornia, there residing until 1899, when they joined their son Frank, in Ta-
coma, the latter having located in Tacoma in 1879. Mrs. Ross was born
of New England parents at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, June 17. 1830. She
married Marcellus Ross at her Massachusetts home, and with him returned
to the then almost unknown west, and for fifty-six years this worthy couple
have traveled life's journey together. Two sons and one daughter now bless
their union.
Frank C. Ross received his scholastic training in the schools of Pittsfiel '.
Illinois, the town of his nativity, and was there extensively interested with
his father in agricultural pursuits. At seventeen years of age he went with
his mother and sister to San Jose, California, on a visit, where For two years
he was assistant with Marshall Groom, son of the proprietor, in the cooking
department of the Golden Gate Fruit Canning Company. In 1877 they re-
turned to Pittsfield, but two years later lie came out to Washington territory,
taking up his abode in the little hamlet of Tacoma. At the time <>i his arrival
this now prosperous city had but a population of seven hundred and fifty
152 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
inhabitants. After working at various occupations for a short time he went
in partnership with Ins brother, Charles K. Ross, in the fruit and confectionery
business, which business developed into a large and successful trade, but was
discontinued at the death of his brother, who was accidentally killed by falling
from the cars while on his way from Kalama to Tacoma, in 1883. Colonel
Ross then engaged in the real estate business, and before many years had
passed he was recognized as a wealthy and successful capitalist and promoter.
In [889 90 ( ;olonel Ross was president of the Tacoma & Lake City Rail-
road and Navigation Company, a road which he built for a distance of twelve
miles from Tacoma to American Lake, toward Portland, which he sold to the
Union Pacific Railroad Company, reserving the steamer and boats on the lake.
Terminal grounds to the value of a quarter of a million dollars were donated
to the Union Pacific Railroad by Allen C. Mason and Colonel Ross. The
Union Pacific then began the work of extending the line to Portland, but after
expending a million dollars in the project the company went into the hands
of a receiver and the work stopped. Continuing in enterprises of this nature,
nel Ross, in [892, began the construction of a railroad along the shore of
the Sound between Tacoma and Seattle. He also made numerous surveys
of possible routes from Tacoma to the east and south, exploring all the moun-
tain passes of the Cascades, and also to the northwest to Port Townsend and
the straits running by the present site of the United States navy yard at
Brem< rton, and in fact projected a system of railways converging at Tacoma,
where he has extensive terminal grounds.
The road toward Seattle ran for three miles through the Puyallup Indian
reservation, which at that time was an insurmountable barrier, but Colonel
Ross (omened the plan of having the work on his grade done by the Indians
themselves, on their own land, believing this would enable him to get through,
lie had a large force of Indians at work clearing right of way, and was
notified by President Grover Cleveland to cease work and get off the reserve.
["his he refused to do, and troops from Vancouver barracks, under command
of ( aptain Carpenter, an old Indian fighter, were sent to stop the work. The
1 ps attempted to drive the Indians off at the point of the bayonet, but the
Indians, encouraged by Colonel Ross, resisted the troops and finally drove
them off the ground, using their working tools as weapons and rolling logs
down the steep hillside, scattering the army. Captain Carpenter finally with-
drew, bul promised the Indians that he would return the next day and drive
I -II if he had to kill ever) one of them. In the early morning following
' Ige Fremont Campbell, General A. J. Baker and
Charles Woodworth, having secured a writ from the courts of King county,
sheriff Charles Woollery captured Captain Carpenter in his tent, and after a
short parley in which the sheriff informed the crestfallen officer that even the
orders of the president of the 1 nitcd States were not good enough to hold out
riff, the army submitted to the writ, and the following day the
before the courl 111 Seattle, where a decision' was ren-
I in Colonel Ross's favor. The government look the matter to the
1 States -.ml, where Judge C. II. Hanford sustained Colonel Ross, but
peal b) the government to the court of appeals the decision
Colonel Ross, not being satisfied with this decision, set to
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 153
work in another way. In 1897 he procured a franchise across the flats on
Railroad avenue, from the city council of Tacoma, then went to Seattle and
secured a franchise there from the county through the lands in King county.
He enlisted with him Malcom MacDougall, a prominent capitalist of that
city, and after securing the money necessary to build the road along the
water front between the two cities the}- returned to Tacoma, where Mr. Mac-
Dougall asked for additional rights of way over lands on the tide lands in
the city limits, through his attorney, General James M. Ashton. The city
council, however, delayed and opposed the project until Mr. MacDougall be-
came disgusted and dropped the whole project.
Colonel Ross next became interested with Fred E. Sander in securing a
franchise from the city of Tacoma for a street railway line to connect the
two cities, by way of White and Stuck river valleys, with a cut-off over the
hills from Auburn to Tacoma. He was associated with George W. Chap-
man, of Seattle, in securing the right of way for this line; but after the Gen-
eral Electric Company, represented by Stone & Webster, secured from Henry
Bucey that gentleman's route and rights of way for a line over the hill country
between the two cities, they changed their plans and purchased the Sanders
route, on which the present Seattle-Tacoma Interurban line was built.
In the furtherance of his project of establishing extensive railway ter-
minals on the water front at Tacoma, Colonel Ross acquired extensive inter-
ests on the tide flats of the Indians, under contracts which entitled him to
purchase these lands at a specified price as soon as Congress should pass laws
allowing the Indians to sell. A senatorial committee from Washington,
D. C, came to Tacoma to decide when and in what manner the lands might
be sold, and also to investigate Colonel Ross's contracts and his rights there-
under. This committee reported in favor of the appointment of a commission
to ascertain who were the legal owners of the Indian lands, and to make
agreements with the Indians for the sale of the lands, the prices demanded
and terms of sale. A commission was then appointed, and a number of the
Indians who had made contracts with Ross then sold, through this com-
mission, the lands so contracted. These contracts all being on record gave
notice to the purchasers from the commission, but a number of persons paid
their money and took certificates of sale from the commission. On March 3,
1903, the necessary law having been passed by Congress authorizing the
Indians to sell, Ross brought suit against all persons who had attempted to
secure title to his lands, to quiet title. A large number of these cases were
settled, but several are now pending, and will be settled in the supreme court
of the United States, as the land has now become of great value. Of the
large area of lands controlled by Colonel Ross, free sites have been furnished
for manufacturing enterprises and it is his purpose to make these lands the
business center of the great city destined to grow up on Commencement bay.
At the present time Colonel Ross, in company with Judge Campbell, is
associated with E. J. Felt in a project for the construction -1 a fast suburban
electric line between Tacoma and American Lake, and is also negotiating for
the construction of another line of standard gauge road into Tacoma.
1.-.4 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
MRS. R. A. SMALL.
Mrs. Rainie Adamson Small is now filling the position of county super-
intendent of public schools in Snohomish county, Washington. She has
been s Jely and prominently connected with the educational interests of
this S( | the state during more than a decade that no history of the
community would he complete without the record of her career. It is a
widely acknowledged fact that the most important work to which one can
direct ergies is that of teaching; whether it he from the pulpit, from
the lecture plat form or Erom the schoolroom, its primary object is ever the
pment of one's latent powers that the duties of life may
be bravely nut and well performed. For ten years Mrs. Small was recog-
of i he most competent teachers in the schools of Snohomish
ty, and at the cud of that time she was elected to the position which
she is now so capably filling.
Small was horn on the 2d of February, 1861, in the land of the
midnight sun. Her Father was Andrew Adamson, a native of Norway, who
came to the I fnited Slates in the year in which his daughter was born. He
brought with him his family and took up his abode in Nicollet county, Min-
He 1 since carried on agricultural pursuits, and is still living
upon a faun there at the age of seventy-four years. His wife, who bore
the maiden name of Julia Charles, was also a native of Norway, and this
worth) couple are still traveling life's journey together, Mrs. Adamson hav-
ing reached tin age of seventy-one years. In the family were seven daughters
and eight sons.
Mrs. Small pursued her preliminary education in the country schools
of M . and at tin- ag fourteen years she left home to care for an
invalid <istn- in northern Missouri. On the death of this sister Mrs. Small
went to |o\-.a. where she continued her education as a student in the public
eld. In [879 she went to Colorado where she entered
upon her work as an educator, successfully teaching in Boulder county.
Win' leted a preparatory course in the University of Colo-
and in 1882 she attended Lombard University of Illinois, where she
continued her studies until on the completion of the collegiate course she
graduated in the class of [886, In 1890 she came to Snohomish county
and lias since been identified with the educational interests of this portion
o! tin st
'in tin [6th of June, 1886, in (ialeshurg, Illinois, Rainie Adamson
her hand in marriage to Wallace F. Small, whose birth occurred in
Illinois, while Ins mother, who in her maidenhood was Aurelia F. Rhyder,
and his father, who was J. I >. I'. Small, were natives of Provincetown, Massa-
chut ■
During her residence in Snohomish county Mrs. Small has gained a
quaintance and won the esteem of all with whom she has been
iated. She was 1 1 al pr< sident of Phi Beta Phi Sorosis for four
. which fact indicates her prominence in this college fraternity. In
000. she w.i- elected superintendent of the public schools of
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HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 155
Snohomish county, her term expiring in September, 1903. In this position
she has given careful supervision to educational work, has studied closely
the conditions and needs of the different schools of the county, has suggested
reforms and instituted improvements until under her direction the Schools
have made rapid advance, and their present high standard is largely
due to her efforts. It would be almost tautological in this connection to
enter into any series of statements as showing her to be a woman of broad
intellectuality and keen discernment, for this has been shadowed forth be-
tween the lines of this review. Moreover, her many womanly qualities and
kindliness of nature have gained for her the warm personal friendship of
many with whom she has been brought in contact.
JAMES A. DURRENT, M. D.
From no professional man do we expect or exact so many of the cardinal
virtues as from the physician. If the clergyman is austere we imagine his
mind is absorbed with the contemplation of things beyond our ken; if our
lawyer is brusque and crabbed, it is the mark of gejiij.is.;:but .in the physician
we expect not only a superior mentality and coiVtprcfensive knowledge but
sympathy as wide as the universe. Dr. Diw-rettt hr large "measure meets all
of these requirements, and is regarded by many as an ideal -physician. Cer-
tainly, if patronage is any criterion of abfity, he ranks high among the leading
physicians and surgeons in Snohomish, where he is now enjoying a large and
lucrative practice.
Dr. James Arthur Durrent was born, on the 23d ©f April, 1875, in Co-
lumbus, Ontario county, Canada, and is the only son of Edward and Anna S.
(Rundle) Durrent. The father is a native of England and was taken by his
parents to Canada when but three years of age. He wedded Miss Rundle,
who was born in Ontario and represented an old English family. Their home
is now in North Dakota, where he is conducting a ranch. The only daughter
of the family is Effie May Durrent.
Dr. Durrent began his education in the public schools of Ontario, and
later attended the high school at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, there continuing
his studies until 1890. In that year he went to North Dakota, and was after-
ward graduated in the high school of Dickinson of that state, with the class
of 1896. He pursued a course in the literary department of the University
of Michigan at Ann Arbor during the succeeding summer, and in the fall
of the same year, having determined to make the practice of medicine his
life work, he entered the medical department of the Michigan University and
therein pursued his studies until he was graduated on the 20th of June, 1900.
Almost immediately afterward he came to the Sound country and practiced
medicine at Marysville, Snohomish county, for one year. In the summer of
1901 he pursued a post-graduate course in the New York Post-Graduate
Medical School, also in the New York Polyclinic and the Xew York Lying-in
Hospital. In February, 1902, he returned to this section of Washington and
took up his abode in Snohomish, where he has since remained, gaining an
enviable position in the ranks of the medical fraternity.
156 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
On the 8th of July, 1902, Dr. Durrent was united in marriage to Miss
Jennie Rozella McDowell, of Minneapolis, a daughter of C. A. and N. V.
McDowell. The young couple are widely and favorably known in the city of
their adoption, and the hospitality of the best homes is here extended to them.
The Doctor is a worthy follower of the Masonic fraternity, and in his political
views is a Republican. In the fall of 1902 he was elected city health officer
for the city of Snohomish and is now filling that position. He is yet a young
man, but, with a nature that can never content itself with mediocrity, he has
so qualified himself that he is steadily advancing to a prominent position
among the most capable members of the profession in Snohomish county, and
the public and the Masonic fraternity acknowledge his worth and merit.
J. O'B. SCOBEY.
As a leading representative of the industrial interests of Olympia, Mr.
Scobey stands to-day as the head of the Puget Sound Preserving Company,
and he is also receiver in the United States land office, having been appointed
to this position by President McKinley and reappointed by President Roose-
velt. A native of the state of New York, he was born in Summit, Schoharie
county, on the 5th of July, 1854, and on the paternal side comes of Scotch
and Welsh ancestry, while on the maternal side he is of Irish and English
descent; but for many generations both families have resided in America.
Zephaniah D. Scobey, his father, was born in the Empire state on the 15th
of December, 1817, and pursued his education in New York. He was after-
ward ordained as a Methodist minister, and for half a century was connected
with the Old New York Conference. He retired from the ministry in 1856,
but afterward preached occasionally, and in 1858 emigrated to Delaware
county, Iowa, where he purchased a farm and established his home. While
there he was elected treasurer of his county and served for two terms, was
also agent for the Upper Iowa University, and acted as postmaster at Fayette
for twelve years. For some time he was also clerk of the county, and in his
public offices was ever found to be reliable, prompt and efficient. Later he
removed to Chicago, where he died on the 15th of April, 1897, at the age of
eighty years. He had married Miss Ellenor Elizabeth Anderson, who was
born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, their wedding being celebrated in Glenham,
New York, in 1845. Like her husband, Mrs. Scobey was a devout member
of the Methodist church, and both led lives of great usefulness, Mr. Scobey
being particularly active in the cause which he espoused in his youth. His
influence was widely felt for good in the community with which he was
identified, and to those who knew him his name still remains as a blessed
benediction. In the family were five childen, all of whom are yet living,
namely: Mrs. Sarah B. Duncan, who is a graduate of the Hahnemann Medi-
cal College of Chicago and is now practicing in that city; George P., who
conducts a grocery store in Fayette, Iowa ; Charles Robert Anderson, who
is Indian agent at Poplar Creek, Montana, and has charge of the Fort Peck
Indian agency; and Carry O., who resides with her sister in Chicago.
J. O'B. Scobey, the other member of the family and the only one living
in Washington, obtained his education in the Upper Iowa University, and
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 157
was graduated in the class of 1874, having the honor of being the valedic-
torian. Soon afterward he entered the journalistic field, becoming connected
with the newspapers in Fayette, Iowa. Later, in Corning, Iowa, he began
reading law, and in the spring of 1879 was admitted to the bar, and practiced
his chosen profession until 1892. In 18S6 he came to Chicago, where he
resided until 1892, when he removed to Pullman, Washington, and for a year
was connected with the Agricultural College at that place. In 1893 he arrived
in Olympia and with others purchased the Morning Olympian, which he pub-
lished until the 21st of July, 1897, at which date he received the appointment
of receiver in the United States land office, being named for the position by
President McKinley. In March, 1902. he was reappointed by President
Roosevelt, for during his previous term he had been most loyal to .the trust
reposed in him, therefore representing the government's best interests. In
Dakota Air. Scobey served for two terms in the legislature, and was the cham-
pion of every measure which he believed would contribute to the welfare of
that commonwealth. He also served one term as a member of the legislature
of the state of Washington.
Since his arrival in Olympia Mr. Scobey has become an active factor in
business circles here. Fie organized the Puget Sound Preserving Company,
which has been famed for its strawberry jam. The enterprise has now as-
sumed extensive and profitable proportions, a large business being carried on
in the canning of fruits and vegetables. Twenty-five employes are in the
factory,, and in this business Mr. Scobey is meeting with excellent success.
He has twenty-seven acres of land devoted to the raising of strawberries,
raspberries, cherries and currants and no finer berries can be found anywhere
in this country than those produced upon his place. He also has splendid
fields of plums and prunes, and in this enterprise is proving how well is the
soil of the Puget Sound country adapted to the purpose of raising fine fruit.
He also purchases large quantities of fruit for his cannery, and he ships his
products to the east, where there is a large demand for the goods which are
put up by the Preserving Company.
On the 24th of November, 1880, Mr. Scobey was happily married to
Miss Myrtie E. Walker, at Brookings, South Dakota. The lady is a native
of the state of Wisconsin and a daughter of Jacob Walker. Their children
are Bessie; Willie C. ; Arthur M. and Helen. Mr. Scobey became a member
of the Masonic fraternity in 1881, having been made a Master Mason in
Brookings Lodge No. 27. A. F. & A. M. He now belongs to Whitman
Lodge No. 49, and has taken the Royal Arch degree and the chapter degree
at Brookings; and the Knights Templar degree at Tacoma. Washington.
He is also connected with the Woodmen of the World; the Modern Wood-
men of America, the Knights of the Maccabees, and Order of Washington.
In politics he has been a life-long Republican, unfaltering in his allegiance
to the party. He has ever been energetic and persevering, and has carried
forward his efforts along lines of well defined labor, bringing to him pros-
perity.
158 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
HON. THAD HUSTON.
The name of Huston has been made familiar in various states, both east
and west, by the vigorous personality and successful achievements of those
by whom it was borne. As far back as 1680 representatives of this family
were settled in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, and from this parent stem were
sent out offshoots which reappeared as sturdy growths in different sections
of the west. Alexander Huston, whose birth occurred in the Keystone state
during the latter half of the eighteenth century, was among the pioneers who
reached Kentucky as early as 1805. Though at this period the "dark and
bloody ground" was enjoying comparative repose, it was far from being an
idyllic place of residence. The state had been in the Union but a few years,
population was still sparse and confined to a few sections, and much of the
broad acreage subsequently so famous was still unfamiliar to the plow.
Daniel Boone, the celebrated sylvan hero, feeling crowded by the too near
approach of civilization, had crossed the Mississippi in the trail of the buffalo
to obtain the room essential to his roving disposition. Since the treaty of
Greenville the red men of Ohio no longer crossed the river to hunt and inci-
dentally maraud the neutral ground that lay beyond. There was a temporary
lull in the dreadful business of scalping and tomahawking, which had long
constituted the chief occupation of the border.
After spending eight years in Kentucky, Alexander Huston concluded
to recross the great river and cast his destinies with the new territory of
Indiana. At the time of his arrival there was little in the prospect that gave
promise of the magnificent commonwealth which we now see before us. No
development of consequence had as yet taken place, and the aspect of nature
exhibited almost its original solitude. The majestic forests of oak, walnut,
hickory and elm stretched in unbroken masses from the Ohio line to the
Illinois border, and from the great lakes on the north to the graceful wind-
ings of La Belle Riviere on the south. There were, it is true, some scores
of thousands of adventurous people on the scene, but they were widely scat-
tered, and 110 towns of any importance had as yet appeared, and such villages
as had been established were mostly confined to the Ohio river border. Alex-
ander Huston settled upon a tract of land in the southern section about 1813,
and from that time on was a very active agent in affairs preceding the forma-
tion of the state. He was also elected a member of the first legislature of
Indiana, which assembled at Corydon, took a leading part in the important
proceedings of that body and remained continually in office until the capital
was removed to Indianapolis in 1825, and was a member of the first session
in Indianapolis.
William Alexander Huston, son and namesake of the pioneer above de-
scribed, was born in August, 1814, in Washington county, near New Phila-
delphia, on a homestead a part of which has never since left the possession of
the family. He educated himself for a physician in the medical college at
Louisville, practiced some years in Indiana and in 1852 removed to Illinois,
where he was engaged in his profession when the outbreak of the Civil war
convulsed the country. He was appointed surgeon of the One Hundred and
Thirty-seventh Regiment. Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he per-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 159
formed arduous service in the line of his profession until his health broke
down under the strain and brought on his death in June, 1864, at Memphis,
Tennessee. In early manhood Dr. Huston had been married in Salem, In-
diana, to Sarah, daughter of James Thompson, of that place, and four of the
five children by this union are still living. The widow, now in the seventy-
sixth year of her age, still lives at Salem, Indiana.
Thad Huston, one of the sons of this estimable matron, was born in
Washington county, Indiana, April 15, 1846, but as his father shortly after-
ward removed to Illinois he received his education in that state. He was
attending school in McDonough county when the war opened, and with his
father's regiment went to the front, from which the father was never destined
to return. On the 21st day of August, 1864, scarcely four months after his
enlistment, the subject of this sketch received a gunshot wound in the knee
in one of the fights near Memphis, which disabled him for further service and
produced an injury from the effects of which he has never fully recovered.
He was honorably discharged at Springfield, Illinois, in October, 1864, and
returned to his home for rest and recuperation. During the summer of 1866
he was engaged in service with the freedmen's bureau and as contract steward
at the hospital in Vicksburg, but in the fall of that year returned to Illinois
and entered upon the study of law. Being admitted to practice in March,
1868, he went to Chicago in the following spring and secured a position as
collector or agent for a large wholesale house. He was thus engaged when
the disastrous fire of 1871 practically destroyed the great lake city and threw
himself and thousands of others out of employment. For the fourteen fol-
lowing years he practiced law at Salem. Indiana, and during this time became
quite prominent in the Republican politics of the state. He was a delegate to
the famous national convention at Chicago in 1880. in which the "immortal
306" made the great fight to elect General Grant for a third term, but which
eventuated in the nomination of James A. Garfield for the presidency.
About this time Mr. Huston's attention had been attracted to the ad-
vantages offered by the Puget Sound country to enterprising emigrants, and
he determined to cast his lot with this part of the northwest. So in 1887 he
closed up his affairs in Indiana, took a transcontinental train for Washington,
and before the end of the year was domiciled at Tacoma in the practice of
law. He soon attracted attention and received recognition by appointment as
master in chancery for the United States circuit court for the western district
of Washington. This office he filled acceptably until 1900, when he was
elected judge of the superior court of Pierce county for the term which is
still uncompleted. A number of talented Indianians have achieved success
and obtained official recognition in the new- state of Washington, but none
have reflected more honor upon the Hoosier commonwealth than Judge
Huston. Both as a lawyer and judge, as well as in all the characteristics of
a good citizen, he has commended himself to his associates and proved a
valuable acquisition to the progressive city on the Sound.
The social relations of Judge Huston are in every way agreeable and in
keeping with the character of the man. Some years ago Miss Rose L. Ken-
rich, a young lady from Illinois, was appointed as one of (he teachers in the
Tacoma schools and attracted attention by her superior qualifications as an
1G0 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
educator. She is a daughter of Solomon Kenrich, who at present resides in
White county, Indiana, to which section he removed from his old home in
Illinois. On the 20th of June, 1898, Judge Huston and Miss Kenrich were
happily wedded, and have since been pleasantly domiciled in one of the most
commodious residences in Tacoma, where a genial but unostentatious hos-
pitality is extended to their many friends. By virtue of his war service
Judge Huston is eligible to membership in various patriotic organizations,
but confines his fraternal relations to comradeship with the Military Order of
the Loyal Legion and the Tacoma branch of the Grand Army of the Republic.
URBAN G. WYNKOOP.
Urban G. Wynkoop of Wynkoop-Vaughan Drug Company, Tacoma,
Washington, was born at Plummer, Venango county, Pennsylvania, in 1863,
and is a son of J. F. and Elizabeth (Leech) Wynkoop. J. F. Wynkoop was
born in northwestern Pennsylvania, of Holland Dutch stock, his ancestry
being among the early settlers near New Amsterdam, in with the Holland
Dutch land grant company on the Hudson river. Urban G. Wynkoop re-
ceived an excellent preliminary education in the schools of Jamestown, New
York, and finished at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he attended the Pitts-
burg College of Pharmacy, a department of Western University of Pennsyl-
vania, from which he graduated in 1886.
Before the close of his school days, however, he owned two drug stores,
one in Allegheny city and another at Springfield, Pennsylvania; this was
before he was twenty-one years of age. In the fall of 1886 he sold out his
business and went to Washington, D. C, where for a year he was in the
employ of Shellor & Stephens, on the corner of Ninth and Pennsylvania
avenues, one of the best drug stores in that city. A year later he removed
to Tacoma and bought into the drug business of Slayden & Sayer. Still
later, with Mr. Slayden as a partner, he started as a branch store, the Crystal
pharmacy, at the corner of Ninth and C streets, but they afterwards dissolved
partnership, Mr. Wynkoop taking the large store in the Fife Block where
the Donnelly Hotel office now is. About 1896 he removed to his present
location, the southwest corner of Ninth street and Pacific avenue, the best
retail location in Tacoma. For several years past Mr. Elmer P. Vaughan
has been a partner in the business, which is conducted under the name of
Wynkoop-Vaughan Company. The concern does a very large business, and
both gentlemen are successful and enterprising business men. Mr. Wynkoop
is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and belongs to all the leading fra-
ternal organizations of Tacoma.
In June, 1882, Mr. Wynkoop was married at Jamestown, New York, to
Miss Mittae F. Georgi, and two sons have been born to them : William and
Albro G, both of whom are being educated in college. The pleasant home
at 307 North J street is a favorite gathering place for the many friends of
the family, and both Mr. and Mrs. Wynkoop are highly respected by a large
circle of friends. Mr. Wynkoop has been identified with the State Pharma-
ceutical Association since its organization about fourteen years ago, and at
'PThe nevTtorF
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HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 161
its last convention, held July 18-21, he was elected president of the associa-
tion. He was one of the organizers of the association, and assisted in draft-
ing the first pharmaceutical law in the state.
ERIC EDWARD ROSL1NG.
Eric Edward Rosling, a leading member of the Tacoma bar, has been a
successful law practitioner in this city during the past fourteen years, his
residence in the Evergreen state dating from the 1st of June, 1890. His
birth occurred in the far-off land of Sweden, March 3, 1865, being a son of
Charles E. and Charlotte (Peterson) Rosling, natives also of that country.
Their marriage was celebrated in the land of their nativity, and in the fall of
1865, when the subject of this review was less than a year old, they took up
their abode in Boston, Massachusetts, where they have ever since made their
home. They are consistent members of the Lutheran church, and are people
of the highest respectability and worth.
Eric Edward Rosling, the only son. of. this worthy couple, received his
elementary education in the public schools of Boston, after which he matricu-
lated in the Boston University, and in tSSc/ihe completed the course- in the
Boston Law School and was given the degree of LL. B. In 1889 he came
to Washington, selecting Tacoma as the future field of his endeavor, and
although he had no acquaintances when he 'arrived iiere be soon formed a law
partnership, and for two years the firm'' of Garretson, Parker & Rosling en-
joyed a large and lucrative patronage, -Severing his connection therewith,
Mr. Rosling has since practiced alone. From the beginning of his profes-
sional career he has met with a fair degree of success, and his clientage is
now of a distinctively representative character. The Republican party re-
ceives his hearty support and co-operation, and during the years of 1893-4
he served as city attorney, while for two years he was president of the board
of education. He has long been prominent and active in promoting the edu-
cational interests of the city, and the normal school was established during
his term of service on the board, and he has also been an active member and
secretary of the board of the Young Men's Christian Association, aiding
materially in the procuring of their building and the necessary furnishings.
Although his interests are many and varied, he has never neglected his re-
ligious duties, and is a valued member of the First Baptist church of Tacoma,
in which for nine years he served as superintendent of the Sunday school, and
now has the largest young people's class of any church in the city, it having
a membership of ninety-six, and much good has resulted from its association.
The marriage of Air. Rosling was celebrated in [890, when Miss "Minnie
Belle Lincoln became his wife, she being a native of Boston and a daughter of
Freeman Lincoln, a member of the same family from which President Lincoln
was descended. Three children have been born: Hattie, nine years; Marion,
seven years; Edward, six years. Mr. and Mrs. Rosling reside in a beautiful
home in Tacoma. the residence being built in 1893. and they have a charming
home at Steilacoom. In his fraternal relations he is a member of both
branches of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also connected
with its auxiliary, the Rebekahs.
162 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
JAMES H. DAVIS.
One of the most picturesque phases of our national life was the days of
the old "side-wheeler" steamboat on the great rivers of the central west.
Many tales have been told illustrative of the career of the steamboatman, and
that prince of humorists. Mark Twain, who was himself one of the best pilots
that ever steered a boat by a snag or sandbank, has preserved these pioneer
incidents of river traffic in his immortal works. And it is a matter of history
that the great Lincoln also was a well known figure on the Mississippi long
before he was ever an aspirant for political honors. It is a matter of pride
with Mr. Davis, whose life is the subject of this biography, that he passed
some of the years of his early boyhood in boating on the river, and he has
many reminiscences of his experiences in that rough but honest life.
His father was Captain Henry C. Davis, who came of Welsh ancestry
and was of Kentucky parentage, but was born in Harrison county, Indiana.
He enlisted at the first call for defenders of the Union and was enrolled in
the Thirteenth Indiana cavalry, serving throughout the entire war and being
raised to the rank of captain. He is a farmer and cattleman, and is now
living at Bucklin, Kansas. His wife was Sarah E. Edmondson and was a
native of Indiana: she is still living.
Their son, James H.. was born at Fredericksburg, Harrison county, In-
diana, on August 22, 1866. He was just eleven years old when he left his
home and began working on the steamboats which plied on the Ohio and
Mississippi, these being the chief modes of transportation between the north
and south. James was not only a hard and willing worker, hut was very
economical, and when he had saved up considerable money from this service
he returned to New Albany. Indiana, and resolved to carry on the education
which had been so much neglected in his youth. Accordingly he attended a
business college there and graduated in 1884. His desire for a good mental
training was not yet satisfied, and on his own resources he attended the De
Pauw University at Greencastle, Indiana, for two years. He now felt him-
self better equipped for the battles of life, and went west to Granada. Colo-
rado, where he remained for three years engaged in general merchandising
and banking. He then came to Tacoma. arriving here on March 10, 1889.
He entered the employ of the street railway company, of which he was the
purchasing agent for three years and three years following was the general
superintendent. Once more he embarked in the mercantile business and con-
tinued it with gratifying success until the fall of 1900. when he was elected
as the candidate of the Republicans of the county to the important position of
auditor. His term was for two years, and in the fall of 1902 he was up for
re-election and was re-elected by the largest majority ever given in Pierce
county. He is a very popular man and has made a most capable official.
Mr. Davis and Miss Olive L. Luzader were married at Carlton, Colo-
rado, November 2. 1888; they have no children. Mr. Davis is past grand
master and past grand representative of the Washington Odd Fellows and
also belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and Fernhill Lodge
No. 80 A. F. & A. M.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 163
DAVID C. BOTHELL.
David C. Bothell, one of the most prominent citizens of Bothell, Wash-
ington, and owner of the townsite, was born May 3. 1820, in Indiana county,
Pennsylvania. His father was George Bothell, born on the ocean, and he
made his home in Pennsylvania, being a farmer and tanner. In the war of
18 12 he enlisted, but never saw active service. His death occurred in 1834
or 1835. The family is an old Revolutionary one. of Scotch-Irish descent.
The mother bore the maiden name of Nancy Johnson, and she was born in
Ireland, but died at the age of ninety years, about 1880. Six children were
born of this marriage, namely: David C. ; William, living in Indiana; Caro-
line, widow of Ben Henderson, resides in the south; Elizabeth, widow of a
Mr. McWilliams, of Nebraska; Florana, widow of Steward Walker, of Penn-
sylvania: Mary Jane, widow of Benjamin Walker of Nebraska.
David C. Bothell was educated in the public schools of Indiana county,
Pennsylvania, and at the death of his father helped to support the family by
working on the farm and at the carpenter trade until he was twenty-four
years of age. On February 27. 1844. he was married to Mary Ann Felmley.
born in Center county. Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John Felmley. a miller
of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, of German descent. Mrs. Bothell's mother
was born in New Jersey. The following family was born to them, namely :
John, deceased, served two years in the war; George served three years in the
war. but at present is in a milling and logging business near Bothell, and has
served two terms in the state legislature: David, a laborer of Bothell: and
Labert. in the mercantile business in Iowa and Minnesota; while the girls are
Mary Ann, who married Robert Campbell, a retired blacksmith of Bothell :
Rachael. who married John M. Keener, a teamster of Bothell : and Clarissa,
deceased.
After his marriage David C. Bothell worked at his trade, at teaming
and in sawmills in Pennsylvania, near the Stewardson furnace. On February
19, 1864, he enlisted in Company K. Fourteenth Pennsylvania Volunteer In-
fantry, and served through the war until November. 1865. He participated
in thirty-nine engagements, including those of the Shenandoah Valley. Peters-
burg and Winchester. He belonged to Averal's brigade, and was kept march-
ing all the time. While not wounded, his back was injured on account of his
horse falling upon him, while he was jumping a ditch. His honorable dis-
charge was delivered in November, 1865.
In 1866 he removed to Calhoun county. Illinois, and engaged in a wood
business on the Mississippi river until the fall of 1871, when he moved to
Palmyra. Missouri, and embarked in farming and dealing in wood. How-
ever, in the fall of 1874 he again made a change, and this time located in
Clayton county. Iowa, and continued his farming operations, and found work
at his old trade as a carpenter. In 1883 he went to Seattle. Washington,
and after a year moved to what is now Bothell. purchased the
ground and platted the town that is named after him. For seven vears he
was engaged in logging and lumbering, as well as in shingle mills, and was
then burned out. After rebuilding he sold his interest and erected the Bothell
Hotel, which he has operated ever since.
164 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
In politics lie is a stanch Republican, and was active in the past and a
prominent political factor. He was the father of the county as well as of the
town, and served as road supervisor. Mr. Bothell is a member of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church, and has given a large amount of ground for church
purposes, not only to the Methodist church, but to other denominations. Fra-
ternally he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is a man
highly respected and much revered by those who know and appreciate him.
HUBBARD F. ALEXANDER.
With astonishing rapidity have the business interests of the northwest
sprung up and been developed, and this section of the country is continually
drawing to it men of enterprise and capability who have become the founders
of extensive business concerns which contribute to commercial and industrial
activity as well as to individual prosperity. Mr. Alexander, now the presi-
dent and manager of the Commercial Dock Company, has resided here since
1890. He was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1S79, and is a son of
E. S. and Emma (Foster) Alexander. The father was born in Connecticut
of Scotch parentage, the grandfather of our subject having been of the " gen-
tleman " class in Scotland, where he bore the title of Sir. During the most
of his active business life E. S. Alexander was a member of the well known
firm of Russell & Alexander, water-works contractors, with main offices at
Buffalo, New York. They built water-works plants throughout the cities of
the middle west, in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado. In
1890 Mr. Alexander came with his family from the last named state to Ta-
coma, where he was soon prominent as a capitalist and investor. Here he
lived until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-three years of age.
His widow, who still survives him, was born in Massachusetts, a descendant
of Major Hubbard, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, but farther back than
that, into an early colonial epoch, can the history of -the family be traced, and
is was originally English. Going back only a few generations, the maternal
ancestry is found to be also that of Addison D. Foster, of Tacoma. United
states senator from Washington. Mrs. Alexander is a member of the Society
of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Hubbard F. Alexander was born in Colorado Springs, where his father
resided, but was a lad of only eleven years at the time of the removal to Ta-
coma. The greater part of his education, therefore, was acquired in the public
schools of this city. After his father's death, and when still quite young, he
became ambitious to do something for himself, and began work on the docks
of Tacoma as longshoreman. When he had passed a year in that way he en-
tered the Tacoma office of Dodwell & Company, of China and Japan, general
importing and exporting agents and ship-owners, with whom he remained
for about four years, when he entered the service of the Commercial Dock
Company. There he won promotion until he finally became manager, and in
1900 he bought a half interest in the business, his partner being Carl L. Steb-
bins. Mr. Alexander is serving as president and manager, and his partner,
who is also an experienced man in the marine shipping business, is the secre-
tary and treasurer. The Commercial Dock Company controls the most im-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 165
portant and extensive business of its kind in Tacoma, and at the present time
is expanding its business to greater proportions than ever before, and are now
building a new dock and dock warehouse on the water front, the dock to be
four hundred and eighty feet long, the building four hundred feet long. All
of these improvements have been completed in the present year (1903). The
Commercial Dock Company does a general shipping, commission, dockage,
wharfage and storage business, and is general agent for a number of steam-
ship companies.
Both Mr. Alexander and Mr. Stebbins are members of the Chamber of
Commerce, Mr. Stebbins being a trustee of that body. Both are men of
marked enterprise and business ability and are valued members of the Union
Club. Mr. .Alexander is yet a young man but twenty-four years of age, yet
from his youth he has been a factor in business circles in Tacoma, coming more
and more into prominence as the years pass by, and the splendid success which
he has already achieved may well be envied by many an older man. His
ability is widely recognized, his energy is a salient feature in his career, and
his business methods are honorable and commendable.
daniel McGregor.
Daniel McGregor is one of the pioneer residents of Tacoma, having lo-
cated here in 1881, and few men are more familiar with the history of the
development and upbuilding of the city, both because of his deep interest in
her welfare and also because of his real estate operations, for during the greater
part of his residence here he has been engaged in real estate dealing.
Mr. McGregor is a native of Picto, Nova Scotia, and a son of Alexander
and Isabelle (McDonald) McGregor. The father was born in Scotland and
when a young man left that country for the new world, settling in Nova
Scotia, where he followed farming until his death." His wife, who was born
in Nova Scotia, of Scotch parentage, has also passed away.
Upon the home farm Daniel McGregor was reared and in his youth he
learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed until his removal to the
Canadian Northwest in 1877. He worked at different places in British Colum-
bia until 1881 and then came to Tacoma, casting in his lot with its pioneer
settlers, those who laid the foundation for the present prosperity and progress
of the place. After a year or two he began operating in real estate, and has
since remained in this business. Previous to the panic of 1893 he had invested
quite heavily in local realty, and he laid out and put upon the market a new
addition to Tacoma, known as McGregor's addition, and also put on the
Montclair addition to Tacoma. In those days he took an active part in many
local business affairs and enterprises, but now devotes his attention quietly
to his real estate dealing and his home interests. He has an office in rooms
408-409 Berlin building, where he conducts his general real estate and loan
business, and during his residence here he has bandied much valuable property
and negotiated important loans, both avenues of his business activity having
been of benefit to the city as well as the source of his own prosperity.
In 1890 Mr. McGregor went to Providence, Rhode Island, and was there
married to Miss Clara Barry, a young lady of Scotch family. They now
166 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
have four children, Mabel, Warren Barry, Helen and Julia Frances. Their
home is at 1003 South I street, and they have many friends in the city, by
whom they are held in high regard.
SAMUEL ROWTCLIFF BALKWILL.
A study of the sections of the United States in which the majority of
the English-born settlers have disposed themselves would probably reveal that
the west has received the greater part. And we may attribute this selection of
the undeveloped districts for settlement as due to the inherent character of
the Anglo-Saxon race to push out into the new and unexplored regions of
the world and bring them under their own civilizing power. One of these
progressive and wide-awake English-Americans in Tacoma is S. R. Balkwill,
who has made a reputation for his enterprise in the real estate and loan busi-
ness, and has been a prominent factor in building up the material interests of
the city.
Thomas Balkwill, his father, was a man of strong character and lived a
very long and eventful life, passing it in many climes and with all the vicis-
situdes incident to the traveler. He was a native of Devonshire, England,
and first came to the United States in a sailing vessel in 1844, landing at
New York. The gold fever of forty-nine seized him, and he was soon hurry-
ing across the plains with the thousands of others, and for four or five years
was delving for treasure in the soil of California. He then returned to Eng-
land, but soon after went to South America and was an operator in the silver
mines. One of his most valuable acts was that he was one of the first to in-
troduce guano as a fertilizer, importing it from the South American islands.
There is not space here to detail all his achievements as a traveler, adventurer
and explorer, for his experiences would fill almost a book of themselves. He
passed his last days in his' old home at Devonshire, and died in 1877 at the
advanced age of ninety-three. His wife's maiden name was Sarah Rowtcliff,
and she passed all her life in Devonshire, dying in 1873.
Samuel Rowtcliff was born in Devonshire in 1854. His early life was
spent in England, and he first came to America in 1870, but has since made
the voyage across the Atlantic many times. He landed at Quebec, where he
remained two weeks, then went on to Montreal, from there to London, On-
tario, where he made his home for the next ten years, being most of the time
connected with the London Furniture Company. He lived for a while in
Boston, Massachusetts, but then returned to Ontario and lived for six years
in Belleville. The month of October, 1888, is the date of his coming to Ta-
coma, and his first business venture was with the Tacoma Cold Storage Com-
pany, in which he bought an interest. On January 1, 1890, the firm of Mor-
rison & Balkwill was established, and it has been in business ever since, with
constantly increasing success. It is one of the leading firms of the kind in the
city and deals in all kinds of real estate, investments, loans, etc. Mr. Balkwill
has always labored for the upbuilding of the city along all lines, and also
takes a very liberal view as to the possibilities of the entire Puget Sound
country. He has made some investments in mining property.
Mr. Balkwill was married in Belleville, Canada, on June 9, 1886, to
Miss Anna Corbett; they have no children. He has gained a comfortable
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 167
fortune, and he well deserves it, for he is the kind of business man that Am
ericans like to honor with the name of " hustler." He is a prominent Repub-
lican and has been a delegate to all the county conventions and several times
to the state conventions. He is high in the order of Masonry and is treasurer
of the Ann Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; he was treasurer of the
blue lodge for a number of years. He is esteemed leading knight in the order
of the Elks. He was one of the original members and founders of the Na-
tional Union, a local fraternal society that is now in a flourishing condition,
and he is also one the trustees of the Chamber of Commerce.
PETER IRVING.
If one should cast about for one cause above all others which has ad-
vanced civilization within the past century, and has made possible the unifica-
tion and knitting together of this vast union of states into an indissoluble fed-
eration, he would find this to be the building of railroads, without which, iso-
lation of the different sections of the country and consequent disintegration of
the republic would have been inevitable. So, one who has assisted in the
construction of this great civilizing agency certainly has much to be proud of,
and Mr. Peter Irving, who is a prominent capitalist of Tacoma, has made
his present fortune in laying many miles of the steel ribbons which bind the
country together.
His life began in the province of Ontario, Canada, on February 25th,
1841. His father was John Irving, a native of Dumfrieshire, Scotland, but
who died, in 1865, in Canada. His mother was Jeannette Weir, a native of
the same place in Scotland, and she died within two weeks of her husband's
death. There was another son, now deceased, and two daughters live in
Canada. When Peter was twenty-three years old he left home and came to
California, but after remaining in San Francisco for a short time he went to
Nevada, where he spent one year, engaged in the lumber business in the
neighborhood of Washoe. From there he went to Idaho, then to Montana,
arriving at the Last Chance gulch, which has now become the thriving city of
Helena, in June of 1866. This was then the center of the mining excitement
which shifted in fervor from point to point over the west during the last half
of the preceding century. Mr. Irving engaged in the feverish pursuit of
the hidden gold there until the fall of 1867, when he started upon a most pic-
turesque journey down the Missouri river to Omaha, following the long and
devious course of the river in a steamboat. From Omaha he went to his
old home in Canada, but the west was the center of attraction for him, and
the next spring he again set out. The new Union Pacific road was then
nearing its completion, and he engaged in the construction work, beginning
his operations at a point twelve miles wesl of Cheyenne, and completing the
road into Ogden, Utah. It was here that be laid the foundation for his present
fortune, and also his most important life work, for this work paid him enor-
mous returns. When the Union Pacific was finished Mr. Irving again re-
turned home, but after a short visit came to the west with the intention of
engaging in the construction work of the Northern Pacific, which was just
then being projected. He arrived at Duluth in September, [869, and was
168 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
on the ground when the road was started at Thompson Junction, Minnesota.
He worked here until the spring of 1873, but at that time work on the eastern
end of the road slackened up, and hearing that the western terminus of
the road would probably be in the Puget Sound, he resolved to gain
the advantage of being the first on the ground. Accordingly he arrived in
what is now known as Old Tacoma on October 6, 1873, the townsite at that
time not having been surveyed ; he made the trip by way of San Francisco.
Since this time Mr. Irving has resided in Tacoma. By his shrewd busi-
ness deals and his marked ability as a railroad contractor he has made his
comfortable fortune, and is one of the largest property owners in the city.
Besides being the proprietor and owner of the Irving, the finest and most
modern family hotel in Tacoma, he owns forty-four residences in various parts
of the city and is building more. He has been an important factor in develop-
ing and building up the city for a longer time than any other man, and in
fact deserves the title of " the oldest inhabitant," for there are at present no
other men in business who were here when he came. He belongs to the
Chamber of Commerce, and is ever ready to support measures which are for
the city's advantage. He is a member of the Republican party. He is a jolly
bachelor, and his past success and his recognized eminence in the business and
financial world make him one of the most esteemed citizens of Tacoma.
JUDGE HIRAM F. GARRETSON.
The great philosopher, Carlisle, somewhere says, in effect, that the
smallest wave of influence is never lost, but goes on and on until it beats
upon the shores of eternity. The truth of this has been recognized even
since biblical times in the power which heredity exerts over us all, and in
the fact that we are, in part, what out forefathers before us have been. So
that it is always a source of justifiable pride when one may point to ancestors
who have run well in the race of life. Judge Garretson is not only to be
congratulated upon the record of the family in the past, but also for the
part he has played in the world's activities.
His paternal ancestry is of English origin, while the maternal is partly
Welsh, and members of the family were in the Revolution and in the war
of 1812. The grandfather's name was John, and he was an adherent of the
Quaker faith. His son, who afterwards became known as the Hon. Wil-
liam Garretson, was born near Smithfield, Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1801.
When sixteen years old he left Ohio and went to the state where his family
had originated, Pennsylvania, making his home in Tioga. He early showed
forth his native ability, and through his own efforts became a foremost schol-
ar. He had an insatiable desire for knowledge, was a voracious reader, an
able speaker, and became one of the prominent men of the state. He was
one of the few men who seem to have an intuitive insight into the future and
are able to forecast the great events and the marvelous developments which
have transformed the United States within the last century. He studied
medicine and law and especially in the latter profession gained excellent pres-
tige. He was a member of the Pennsylvania legislature from 1830 to 1836.
THE NEW yVirY
IPUBLIC LIBRARY]
ASTOK C.ENQX AND
|TlLDENFOUNBATtONsJ
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 169
His death occurred in Washington, D. C, in 1876. His wife was Emily
Caulkins, who was born in Tioga in 181 5 and is still living, making her
home with Judge Garretson in Tacoma. Her grandfather, Dr. William Wil-
lard, was the founder of the town of Willardsburg, which was later changed
to Tioga; this city was the center of the early history of both sides of the
family.
It was in Tioga that Hiram F. Garretson first saw the light of day,
his birthday being on May 12, 1843. Early in his youth he went to Elmira,
New York, and obtained employment in a store, but when the war broke
out he returned to Tioga and enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and
Thirty-sixth Pennsylvania, entering the service on August 2, 1862, and being
assigned to the Army of the Potomac. His service was in the states of Mary-
land, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama, and during the two and
a half years which he served he was made sergeant ; he was mustered out at
Harrisburg. When peace was restored he came home to complete the edu-
cation which had been interrupted. He attended the Rochester (New York)
Commercial College and then entered the Columbian College Law School
at Washington, where he graduated in 1868. He then took a position in the
treasury department, but resigned in 1869. .Going.-to. Iowa he located in
Victor, and in the seventeen years he lived there he gained a very fine prac-
tice, not only in the city but throughout the state.1 - He was also the mayor
of Victor. Judge Garretson has been a resident of Tacoma since April 22,
1887, and during this time has been very successful in the law, and has also
played a prominent part in many affairs of the city and state. He was quar-
termaster general of the state militia with the rank of colonel ; Governor
Ferry appointed him a member of the Harbor Line Commission, and in that
capacity he helped to locate the Puget Sound harbors.
In 1867 Mr. Garretson was married to Miss Ella M. Hay ward, the
ceremony being performed in New York city; she was born at Springfield,
Massachusetts. They have four children, Carrie H., Ellis Lewis, Stella B.
and Susie E.
LEWELL1N M. GLIDDEN.
Lewellin M. Glidden is a prominent member of the real estate firm of
Crosby & Glidden of Tacoma. He was born in Chautauqua, New York, in
1850, and is a son of Dr. Horace and Cornelia A. (Moore) Glidden. His
paternal ancestry is Welsh, and the family was founded in the United States
by the great-grandfather of our subject, who left his home in Wales in order
to cast in his lot with the citizens of the new world. From early manhood
Dr. Glidden resided in Chautauqua county, New York, and was a prominent
physician there, long practicing his profession with signal success. There his
death occurred in November, 1901. His wife is still living, in Tacoma,
Washington.
During his boyhood days Lewellin M. Glidden attended the Union school
at Jamestown, where he prepared for college. In [868 he matriculated in
Amherst College at Amherst, Massachusetts, where he was graduated in 1872.
He then took up the study of law in Jamestown, passing his final examina-
170 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
tions in Rochester, after which he was admitted to the bar in that place in
1876. He practiced law for several years in Jamestown until his health be-
came impaired because of the confinement necessitated by the arduous duties
of his profession. He then turned his attention to merchandising for a time,
and subsequently engaged in teaching, conducting a classical preparatory
school at Jamestown for three years, at the expiration of that period becoming
principal of the Westfield Academy of Westfield, New York, where he re-
mained for two years, and in 1883 he arrived in Tacoma. Once more he
opened an office and began the practice of law at that place, at first alone,
but later he entered into partnership with Judge Town, with whom he was
associated for several years, building up a large and successful practice. He
occupied a prominent position in the foremost ranks of the representatives
of the legal profession here. His legal learning, his analytical mind and
the readiness with which he grasped a point in an argument, all combined
to make him one of the most capable lawyers in Tacoma. At length, how-
ever,, failing health forced him to again abandon his profession and he em-
barked in the real estate business, in which he is still engaged, being a member
of the firm of Crosby & Glidden, with offices at 502 and 503 Berlin building.
They do a general real estate and insurance business, and Mr. Glidden has
been to a greater or less extent interested in real estate operations since his
arrival here. He is also financially interested in mining enterprises, and his
judicious investments have brought to him good financial return. In the
fall of 1902 his friends prevailed upon him to become a candidate for school
director, and he made a good canvass but was defeated by a very small ma-
jority, although he ran ahead of his ticket.
Mr. Glidden was married in Jamestown, New York, in 1876, the lady
of his choice being Miss Helen R. Robertson. They have no children of
their own, but have adopted a little daughter, Liela Glidden. Mr. Glidden
was widely and favorably known throughout much of Washington, his quali-
fications well fitting him for political, business and social life. He has labored
for the improvement of every line of business or public interest with which
he has been associated, and at all times has been actuated by fidelity to his
country and her welfare. In private life he has gained for himself the high
personal regard which arises from a true acknowledgment of character, kind-
ness and generosity.
HERBERT S. GRIGGS.
The law has ever attracted to its ranks a certain class of men gifted with
keen perceptions and logical minds, men who, by nature or training or both,
are peculiarly fitted to deal with the problems which arise among their fel-
lows. In reviewing the prominent members of the Pierce county bar the
name of Herbert S. Griggs takes precedence of many of his professional
brethren, and we are pleased to present to his numerous friends and ac-i
quaintances this sketch of his useful life.
Mr. Griggs was born in the city of St. Paul. Minnesota, on the 28th
of February, 1861, and is of English and Scotch ancestry. He is a son of
Chauncy W. Griggs, one of Tacoma's most prominent business men, and his
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 171
life history appears elsewhere in this work. In the public schools of the city
of his nativity Herbert S. received his early mental training, and later matricu-
lated in Yale College, graduating in the classical department of that renowned
institution in 1882, while two years later he completed its law course. Being
soon afterwards admitted to the bar, he was engaged in the practice of his
chosen profession in St. Paul for a few years, and during that time served as
assistant city attorney. In the year 1888 he came to Tacoma, Washington,
where he has ever since been numbered among the most successful law prac-
titioners, having met with marked success in his chosen calling. He has
been admitted to practice in all the courts with the exception of the supreme
court of the United States. In political matters Air. Griggs formerly gave his
support to the Democratic party, but in later years has been independent, and
although he is intensely public-spirited he has never desired the honors or
emoluments of public office, preferring to give his entire time to his rapidly
growing patronage. He has the honor of being president of the local branch
of the Sons of the Revolution, being fully entitled to membership in that
organization, as his great-granduncle, Colonel Griggs, was an officer in the
war for independence, and several others of his ancestors participated in that
memorable struggle. This organization in Tacoma now has a membership
of thirty, and is confined to the very best business and professional men in
the city. Air. Griggs is a prominent member of the Congregational church,
in which he is now serving as a member of the board of trustees, and he is
a stockholder in all of his father's extensive business enterprises.
HON. WILLIAM O. CHAPMAN.
This distinguished jurist, who is at present occupying the position of
superior court judge at Tacoma, is of New England stock thoroughly west-
ernized by long residence in Ohio. The Chapmans came from Hull, England,
and settled in Connecticut in 1635, and the judge's great-grandfather, Nathan
Chapman, was one of the sturdy farmers of the state of Steady Habits in a
generation long gone by. Beman Chapman, son of Nathan, was also a
farmer, but in 1805 left his native state and took up his abode in the famous
Western Reserve of Ohio. He was among the first of the pioneers of thai
section, and spent the remainder of his days in clearing and cultivating the
tract of land which he purchased after his arrival. This pioneer farmer left
a son, Ira O. Chapman, who became a man of note in the state and especially
instrumental in building up its educational institutions, lie was one of the
founders of Mount Union College at Alliance, was its vice president and
one of the teachers until the time of his death, which occurred in 1880, when
he was in the fifty-fifth year of his age. In early life he had married Jane
Weston, a native of Augusta, Ohio, and their surviving child was the Tacoma
judge whose career constitutes the subject matter of this biography.
William O. Chapman was born at Alliance. Ohio, March 19. 1859, at-
tended Mount Union College and was graduated in the classical department
in 1876. For four years subsequently he studied law with Judge Caldwell,
at Cleveland, and was admitted to practice before the supreme court of Ohio
in 1880. During the following year he removed to I 'oil Townsend, Wash-
172 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
ington, and was engaged there for some time in the practice of his profession,
meantime holding the office of deputy collector of customs. In the fall of
1885 he located at Tacoma, where he resumed his professional work and
was attorney for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company for eleven years.
In 1896 he received the nomination as candidate for the. office of superior
court judge on the Republican ticket. This was the year of the famous con-
test between Bryan and McKinley, and, though the east and middle west were
solidly Republican, the state of Washington was at that time largely under
the influence of the Populist party. The Republicans were unable to stem
the tide then sweeping over the state, and went down in temporary defeat.
Judge Chapman, however, not at all discouraged and well knowing there
would be " another day in court," resumed practice and bided his time until
there should be another trial of strength between the parties. In 1900 he
was renominated by the Republicans, made an effective canvass and was tri-
umphantly elected to the superior court bench of Pierce county. During his
incumbency he has given satisfaction both to the bar and the public at large,
his rulings being considered as sound and his general deportment of the kind
that indicates the judicial temperament.
In 1881 Judge Chapman was united in marriage with Miss Jessie B.
Mitchell, a native of Pennsylvania and daughter of Hon. John H. Mitchell,
United States senator from Oregon. They have two children, Alice I. and
Mildred, both born in Tacoma. Judge and Mrs. Chapman are members of
the Presbyterian church, and the former is connected with the order of Elks.
He has been a life-long Republican, and deserves much credit for having stood
firmly for sound principles when the wild wave of financial fanaticism was
sweeping so many others from their moorings.
WILLIAM RUSH BRADLEY.
William R. Bradley, president of the Tacoma Commission Company, of
this city, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 185 1, and is a son ot Judge
Charles D. and Mary (Rush) Bradley. His paternal ancestry is connected
with that of General L. P. Bradley, of Tacoma, whose sketch appears else-
where in this work, although in this generation there is no immediate con-
nection. The Bradley family is an historic one in the annals of the early New
England states, and is descended from John Bradley, who was the first of the
brothers to come to America from England, the date of his arrival being
1687, and one branch located in Connecticut and another in the state of New
York, our subject being descended from the latter.
Charles D. Bradley, the father of William Rush, was born at Albany,
New York, and is the youngest brother of Judge Joseph P. Bradley, who was
one of the chief justices of the United States supreme court, but is now de-
ceased. Charles D. was reared to young manhood in the city of his nativity,
there receiving a college education and a thorough training in the law. In
the early days he came to the west, locating at Chicago, Illinois, where he
made his home for a few years, and then removed to St. Louis, Missouri.
Practicing law in the latter city until 1870, he was then appointed by President
Grant United States district attorney for the territory of Colorado, with head-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 173
quarters in Denver. He continued to fulfill the duties connected with that
position for several years, during which time he took a prominent part in the
movement leading to the admission of Colorado as a state, and it is a matter
of history and should be here recorded in justice to him that he drafted the
constitution for the new state. Later in life he removed to Florence, Colorado,
where he still makes his home, practically retired from the active duties of
a business life, although the appreciative citizens there have conferred upon
him the offices of city and county attorney and the district judgeship. He is
a man of very brilliant legal and intellectual attainments and a highly respected
citizen of Colorado. His political support has ever been given to the Repub-
lican party. His wife also still survives, and her birth occurred in Pittsburg.
She, too, is descended from distinguished ancestry, and her mother bore the
maiden name of Nancy Lee. On the paternal side she is descended from a
brother of Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence.
William Rush Bradley remained in St. Louis, Missouri, until 1876, dur-
ing which time he pursued his education, and after his removal to Denver
he was employed in his father's office for about two years. For a number of
years thereafter he held various positions. For about four years he was
postmaster at Villa Grove, Colorado, then the terminal point of the Denver
& Rio Grande Railroad, which was being builded westward at that time.
Through his brother-in-law, who was one of the promoters and vice president
and general counsel of the Colorado Midland Railroad, he secured different
positions with that company, and when the road was completed was appointed
agent at Manitou Springs. From that place he came to Tacoma in 1889 and
secured a position with the Merchant's National Bank, thus continuing until
1893, when he assumed his present business relations with the Tacoma Com-
mission Company, being one of the owners of the concern. They conduct an
extensive wholesale business in fruits and produce at 151 1 Pacific avenue.
He, too, gives a loyal support to Republican principles, and it may be said
that he has taken part in the making of two states, having voted for the ter-
ritory of Colorado to enter the Union in 1876 and for Washington in 1889.
For several years he served as one of the park commissioners of Tacoma, is
a member of the Chamber of Commerce and of the Union Club, and is one of
the leading and representative citizens of Tacoma.
On the 15th of June, 1882, Mr. Bradley was united in marriage to Miss
Frances Secord, the wedding being celebrated at Silver Cliff, Colorado. Mrs.
Bradley is a direct descendant of Mrs. Laura Secord. a woman noted as a
Loyalist, and who saved a British army in the war of 1812. She was born in
Massachusetts in 1775. and was a daughter of Captain Thomas and Sarah
l Whiting) Ingersoll. Her father was a very wealthy man. and her maternal
grandfather was General John Whiting, of Great Barrington, Massachusetts,
the family on both sides being members of the aristocracy. In the stormy
days preceding the Revolution the [ngersolls were loyal to England and
joined the United Empire loyalists in Canada, which thereafter remained their
home, they having settled in the county of York, near Niagara Falls. There
Laura Ingersoll grew to young womanhood and married James Secord, an-
other ardent lovalist. His ancestrv is traced back to the time of Louis X of
174 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
France. They were Protestants, and, escaping the massacre of St. Bartholo-
mew by flight to England, lived there until finally five Secord brothers came
to America, where they founded the town of New Rochelle, New York.
There the descendants lived until the breaking out of the Revolution, when
they emigrated to Canada, settling in the Niagara district, and there Laura
Ingersoll gave her hand in marriage to James Secord. During the war of
1812 the Secords were active defenders of England, James becoming a promi-
nent British soldier, and in the year 18 13 came home on a furlough, having
been seriously wounded at the battle of Queenstown Heights. While confined
to his bed and unable to move, his wife accidentally overheard a conversa-
tion of some American soldiers who had entered the house and demanded
food, that the Americans were on their way to capture a British storehouse
of supplies at Beaver Dam, in charge of Lieutenant Fitzgibbon and thirty
men. Not being able to go himself to Fitzgibbon and give the warning, Mr.
Secord's wife volunteered the hazardous undertaking, going alone and on foot
a distance of thirty miles, the road leading through almost impenetrable
forests, filled with black swamps, quagmires, swift running creeks, etc. She
also had to circumvent several American sentries, and twice she encountered
savage Indians, but escaping all these great dangers she finally reached Beaver
Dam just in time to save Lieutenant Fitzgibbon and his thirty men. This
unusual act of bravery and devotion is a noted one in the annals of Canada,
and her fame is not only preserved in the historical records at Ottawa but
has been a subject in many noted Canadian stories and poems, the most
celebrated being a dramatic poem entitled "Laura Secord, the Heroine of
1812," by Sarah Anne Curzon, a very meritorious work. James Secord be-
came a British customs officer at Chippewa, Canada, where he died in 1841,
and there his wife passed away in death in 1868.
JEREMIAH GIBSON STARTUP.
The vast forests of fir. pine and cedar of' the Pacific coast have attracted
men of means to that locality, and were one of the prime causes in bringing
about the rapid settlement of the country; and since the introduction of rail-
roads in that vicinity the lumber industry has ramified in every direction, and
even the least accessible places are being reached by capital in the hands of
enterprising men. One of the large concerns engaged in the production of
lumber in the state of Washington is the H. J. Miller Lumber Company.
This firm has a" mill at Gate in Thurston county and another at Index at the
foot of Index mountain in Snohomish county, and own several tracts of very
choice timber. The company emplovs a large force of hands and manu-
factures daily about eighty thousand feet of lumber, the greater part of which
is sent to the markets of the east. One of the members of this company who
has traveled extensively in making sales of this product is J. G Startup, who
resides in Chehalis.
The father of this gentleman was George Startup, who was a native of
England, born there in 1821, and was married to an English lady, Frances
Gibson. They were both members of the Episcopal church. They emigrated
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 175
to America in 1870 and lived most of the time in Washington, where the
father died in 1892 at the age of eighty-one, but his wife still survives in her
seventy-first year and resides in Seattle. Three children were born in England
and are now in Washington, George being at the town of Startup in the
lumber business, and Joseph in the employ of the government in the light-
house service; and the subject of this sketch. Three other children, Charles,
Lucy and Viola, were born in the United States and are living in Seattle,
Washington.
Jeremiah Gibson Startup was born in Greenwich, England, December
15, 1866, and as he was still a child when he came across the Atlantic he re-
ceived the greater part of his educational training in this country. He had the
privilege of attending the University of Washington, and as soon as he had
completed his course there he began the learning of the principles of the lum-
ber trade, and has ever since taken every opportunity to increase his acquaint-
ance with that industry.
He was married in 1899 to ^Iiss Adah Bailey, a native of St. Paul, Minne-
sota. They attend the Episcopal church and are highly esteemed in the
community. Mr. Startup is an independent in political matters, and on account
of his connection with traveling salesmen belongs to the organization of com-
mercial travelers, and to that distinctive lumber order, the Hoo Hoos.
C. STEWART KALE.
C. Stewart Kale, farmer, horticulturist and dairyman of Everson, Wash-
ington, was born near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1848, in the oil regions.
He is a son of Andrew and Rebecca (Smith) Kale, and the father was born
in Ohio, and after living in western Pennsylvania for a time went with his
family to Iowa in 1856, settling on a farm in Muscatine county. He was one
of the pioneers there and became a successful, well known man, and very
highly respected at the time of his death, in 1S84, in that locality. The mother
also died in Iowa, hut was horn in Pennsylvania.
C. Stewart Kale was reared upon the farm and received the greater
portion of his education in the schools of Muscatine county, having only at-
tended school a year or so prior to the family exodus to [owa. At the age
of twenty-three years he was married to Charlotte E. McNeil, and the young
couple began their homemaking in west central Iowa, in Audubon county,
where they settled upon a farm. There they lived four years, and then in
1882 came to Washington, locating in Whatcom county, where they took up
a pre-emption claim of one hundred and sixty-two acres, on which he has
made his home ever since. His farm adjoins the town of Everson, which lies
just across the Nooksack river, and was built up long after Mr. Kale estab-
lished his home. In fact, at the time of his location here the county was all
virgin forest. Mr. Kale has made a great success of horticulture, making a
specialty of prunes, apples and cherries. His ranch produces large crops of
hay and other grains. Another large interest of the place lies in the line dairy
and his excellent stock. The entire property has been cultivated scientifically
on the "intensive" principle, and is just like a garden. The machinery and
176 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
other implements are all of the most modern make, and so perfectly is every
detail managed that it is a pleasure to watch even the most ordinary task
performed.
Mr. Kale is deputy county assessor for townships 40 and 41, north
range, 4 east. In 1884 he was elected on the Republican ticket to the office
of county commissioner and served two years, and he has always taken a
lively interest in local affairs. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kale are members of the
Everson Presbyterian church, in which Mrs. Kale is a greatly beloved lady
and hard worker. Eleven children have been born to them.
For a few years Mr. Kale was interested in a local shingle mill, but is
now devoting himself exclusively to his farm, dairy and horticultural experi-
ments. When he first located here, farming was only an experiment, and
his claim, as before stated, was covered with timber. The only direction he
could look and see anything was upwards towards the sky. It took a long
time to hew a home from such surroundings, but that he has done so and
very successfully, a visit to his beautiful ranch will prove. In addition to his
financial success Mr. Kale has become a very prominent citizen, and is greatly
revered in Everson as an old-time pioneer and a man of highest integrity of
character.
LOUIS D. CAMPBELL.
If there is any virtue attached to the condition of one's birth in this
great land of America, it lies not in being born wealthy, or in high station,
or with any of the specially favoring circumstances which are the delectable
day-dreams of the imaginative, but so often has the case been proved that it
seems to be a tried and true rule, that the youth who would gain honor and
renown must begin in what is known as a humble station, and with all the
adverse winds of fortune against him struggle manfully to the top. It is ad-
mitted that there are exceptions to this rule, but there is not a school boy
anywhere who could not adduce sufficient example to prove the statement.
So that we are only adding more evidence to the chain when we bring before
the reader the life of the present mayor of the city of Tacoma, which is a
record of advancement from the puddling department in an iron mill to a
place among the leaders of men.
J. M. Campbell, his father,, was born in Pennsylvania and died there
in 1888. He was an employe of the Cambria Iron Works and gained a good
record as soldier in the Civil war. He enlisted in the Third Pennsylvania
Infantry for three months' service, being commissioned second lieutenant.
When his three months were up, he returned to Johnstown and raised the
Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers, which was the first regiment to enter
Camp Curtin. He was breveted brigadier general, and followed the flag of
the Union until the close of hostilities. Most of his service was in the states
of Maryland and Virginia, where he commanded the brigade guarding the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. His wife's maiden name was also that well
known Scotch title, Campbell, and they were both of that nationality: her
first name was Mary R. Her mother was born in the old country, but she
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. LENOX AND
1-riLDEN FOUNDATIONS
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 177
was born in Pennsylvania and is still living, at the age of seventy-six, in the
town of Johnstown.
The son, Louis D., was born in Bradys Bend, Armstrong county, Penn-
sylvania, on July 31, 1852. When he was a year old his parents moved to
Johnstown. He had some advantages in an educational way up to his elev-
enth year, but at that time the period of development for him was interrupted,
for he went to work in the Cambria Iron Works' rolling mill as a "hook-up"
in the puddling department. This ambitious youth worked here for some
time, and later in the same works learned the trade of the machinist. But
the need of an education became more and more apparent to him and he
left his work to enter the Pennsylvania State College at Belief onte, Centre
county, which he attended for two years. He then attended the law depart-
ment of the State University at Philadelphia, and graduated and was ad-
mitted to the bar in Philadelphia in 1880, a good record for one who had
not had the advantages of consecutive training from youth up. Soon after
being admitted to practice the aspiring attorney came west and settled in
Tacoma in January of 1883, where he has made his home since and has car-
ried on a successful law business. In 1884 and 1885 he was city attorney,
and in 1900 was elected mayor of Tacoma for-a^erm of two years, and in
the spring of 1902 was chosen for another like period. In 1890 he was a
member of the charter commission that framed the new charter for the city.
Air. Campbell has among other things talent as a public speaker, a qualifica-
tion which is of especial advantage to one in the profession of law.
Air. Campbell was married at San Francisco on January 10. 18S8, at
whicli time Miss Emma Cicott, a native of Detroit, Michigan, became his
wife. They have no children of their own. but have adopted a child, Laura
Campbell, which they cherish as their own.
HON. MARK A. FULLERTON.
One of the capable and prominent young jurists of the great state of
Washington, and one who had risen already to the position of judge of the
supreme court of his adopted state, is the Hon. Mark Fullerton. He comes
of good old Scotch ancestry, though his forefathers came to America at a
time prior to the Revolution.
He records his birth as taking place on his father's farm near Salem,
Oregon, on the 13th day of November, 1858. He was educated in Willam-
ette University in Salem, was admitted to the bar in 1883, came to Wash-
ington in 1885, and located at Colfax. Whitman county, where he carried
on the practice of his chosen profession. For some time he served as prose-
cuting attorney of the county, and in the fall of 1898 was elected to the
supreme bench of the state. Ever since devoting himself to the practice of
law Judge Fullerton has given his whole time and energy to it. thus account-
ing in large measure for his eminent success.
In 1887 Mr. Fullerton was married to Ella lone Rounds, a native of
Michigan and a daughter of V. P. Rounds, who with his son is now a mer-
chant in Kansas. They have a family of three sons.
12*
1Tb HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
The Judge lias membership in the Masonic fraternity and in the Amer-
ican Order of United Workmen. He has ever shown himself a worthy
representative of the sons of the brave pioneers who first made this state one
of the richest and most fertile in the west.
HON. WALLACE MOUNT.
On the 16th day of January, 1859, just across the Willamette river from
Oregon City in Clackamas county, there was born into the world a man who
was destined to take an active part in the public life of the west and to
achieve distinction as a public-spirited citizen, as a legislator, as a lawyer,
and as a jurist. For many generations the Scotch ancestors of the Mount
family have resided in this country, and the father of our subject, Henry D.
Mount, was born on the 24th of August, 1833. When he was only eighteen
years of age he dared the dangers of the wild west, and crossing the plains
settled in Oregon City. He had learned the tailor's trade, but here he became
a farmer. His wife was Rebecca Stevens, a native of Keokuk, Iowa, and a
daughter of an early pioneer of Oregon. Their children were : Wallace,
R. J., Dallas, deceased, Clara, Eva, W. C, O. B., Wenona, Minnie, Hugh S.,
Clyde, Guy, Robert, Albert, all but one of whom are still living. The parents
live on their farm near Silverton, Oregon.
Wallace Mount, whose brief history we shall here endeavor to relate,
was the oldest child of the above and received his education in the State
University at Eugene, Oregon, where he graduated in 1883. After com-
pleting his education he read law in the office of Williams, Dunham & Thomp-
son, and later engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. Mr. Mount
removed to Sprague, Washington, in 1886, where he continued his practice
until 1888. in which year he was elected prosecuting attorney of Douglas.
Adams and Lincoln counties ; and when Washington was admitted to state-
hood, he was elected judge of the superior court of the same counties, and
including Okanogan. He was re-elected in 1892, but in the landslide of
Populism which swept over the state in 1869 he was defeated. On being
elected a member of the state legislature in 1898, the Judge took an active
part in all the legislation and was a member of the judiciary committee and
chairman of the committee on counties and boundaries. In 1900 Mr. Mount
was elected to the supreme court of the state and took his seat in January of
the following year. He is now filling the office to the highest satisfaction
of all.
Judge Mount was happily married in 1887 to Carrie Walker, who was
born in California. They bad two sons, Frank Reed Mount and William.
In December, 1896, the family were called to mourn the death of the devoted
wife and mother, whose loss was felt not only by the members of her house-
hold but also by the community, in which for ten years she had lived so
respected and beloved. In 1899 Mr. Mount married Mrs. Ida Maloney,
whose maiden name was Ida Hasler. She had two daughters, Hazel and
Mira.
Judge Mount's home is in Olympia, and he also has property in Spokane.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 179
The religious preferences of the family are with the Presbyterian church,
which they attend and support. Mr. Mount has been for many years an active
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in all its branches, and is
now past state grand master; he is also connected with the Knights of Pythias,
and the Bar Association of the state. Throughout his long and honorable
career no reproach has ever been cast upon the character of this worthy son
of Washington.
EDWARD STEELE.
Edward Steele, one of the prominent residents of Marysville, Wash-
ington, was born May 27, 1838, at Ontario, Canada, near Toronto, and he
is a son of Thomas Steele, a native of Canada, who was a carpenter by trade
and died at the age of fifty-six years. The mother bore the maiden name
of Rebecca Trimmer, and was a native of Pennsylvania; she came to Canada
with her parents when a child, and lived to be eighty years of age. The
children born to the parents of our subject were as follows: Benjamin,
Edward, George, David, Daniel, Joseph. Elizabeth, Sarah, Amy Anne.
Edward Steele was educated in the public schools of county York,
Ontario, but his advantages were limited, as he left school at the age of nine
3 cars, when his father moved to Port Doer, Canada, and he was put to work
clearing off the wild land of the family farm during the summertime, and in
winter he worked in the lumber woods. Later he learned the carpenter
trade, and when twenty-one years of age he went to California and worked
in Placer county, making timber for the mines, but after two years he went
to Washoe, Nevada, and spent five years at that place working in the timber
woods. In 1867 he returned to Canada on a visit, then went to Daviess
county, Missouri, there took up some land and engaged in farming for eighteen
months. He then went to southeastern Kansas and pre-empted one hundred
and sixty acres in Wilson county, and was engaged in farming and horse-
raising until 1885, when he settled at Marysville and homesteaded eighty
acres, and purchased some city property which proved a good investment.
After locating in the city he built the wharf at Marysville. and engaged in a
flour and feed business, continuing in the latter line until July 1, 1902, when
he retired from active business life.
In April, 1869, he married, at Ottawa, Kansas, Lizzie Warren, a native
of Illinois, and a daughter of William and Margaret Warren. The follow-
ing children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Steele: Margaret, widow of
William Morgan, of Marysville; Ora Alberta married P.. 15. Nagley, of Mill-
town; Mabee, keeping house for her father at Marysville. Politically Mr.
Steele is a Republican, and is a man highly esteemed by all who have the
honor of his acquaintance.
CHARLES WRIGHT.
Charles Wright, president of the well known and popular Hotel Byron
at Whatcom, and one of the leading men of the city, was horn Ma; ,6, [866,
at Toronto, Canada, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Shaw) Wright,
180 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
the former of whom was a native of England, and a contractor, and he
died in 1868. His wife was also a native of England, and she is now living
at Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Our subject is descended from good old
English stock on both sides of the family. Four children were born to Mr.
and Mrs. Henry Wright, namely : Charles ; Alfred, who is engaged in mining
in California; Henry, a photographer of Rat Portage; and Frank, who is
manager of the Carlisle Packing Company at Whatcom.
After attending common school until 1884, Mr. Wright entered the
employ of the Canadian Pacific Railroad at Winnipeg, but after ten years
of service with that company he removed to Point Roberts, Washington, and
engaged in trap-fishing with bis brother Frank, incorporating the firm of
Wright Brothers Fishing Company, in 1893. This continued until 1898,
when the partners sold their plant to the Pacific American Fish Company,
and in 1901 the two purchased a controlling interest in the Carlisle Packing
Company at Lummi Island, in which our subject has since been interested
and holds the office of president, while his brother is secretary and manager.
The plant is a large one and has a capacity of sixty thousand cases, and the
volume of business is constantly increasing, while the market is enlarging
owing to the superiority of the product.
In June, 1902, Charles Wright and M. C. Dickinson purchased the in-
terest of Roehl Brothers, who were conducting the Hotel Byron, and since then
they have made it one of the finest and most modern of all the hotels in the
city or the surrounding country, it only being surpassed by those of Seattle,
Tacoma and Spokane.
On February 18, 1896, Mr. Wright was married to Miss Jean Brown, a
daughter of George Brown, of Peterboro, Ontario, a brick contractor, and
very prominent man of English descent. One daughter has been born to Mr.
and Mrs. Wright, Elsie, aged one year and two months.
As a Republican Mr. Wright has taken an active part in local affairs,
and has been a delegate to county and state conventions. Religiously he is
a member of the Episcopal church and contributes liberally towards its sup-
port. Mr. Wright is a charter member of the order of Elks of Bellingham
Bay, of the Commercial Club and the Cougar Club, and is one of the most
popular men in this part of the state, as well as a very successful and in-
fluential one.
HARRISON COWDEN.
A well improved and attractive farm of one hundred and sixty acres
situated about a mile north of Ferndale and a half mile from the Noohsack
river was till recently the property of Harrison Cowden, and he is classed
with the enterprising agriculturists of his community. He was born at Grass
Lake. Jackson county, Michigan, on the 29th of June, 1840, a son of Eben
Cowden, whose birth occurred in the state of New York, June 26, 1785.
Both he and his father were soldiers of the war of 1812, and Eben Cowden
also served in the Mexican war. He was a brigadier general of the state of
Michigan at the time of his demise, which occurred in 1862, when he was
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 181
sixty-seven years of age. Brave and fearless as a soldier, he rendered his
country valuable aid and made for himself a most creditable military record.
In early manhood he married Miss Maria Blanchard, a native of Seneca
county, New York, and a representative of an old Quaker family. She died
in 1878, at the age of seventy-two years. Their children were as follows:
Harrison ; Charles, who was a member of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry and
assisted in the capture of Jefferson Davis: Abel F. ; Aj ; and Mary, the wife
of Henry Skellinger, of Symrma, Michigan. The father had three sons and
a daughter by his first marriage : Cyrus ; Reuben ; Henry, and Emeline, the
wife of Nelson Ferris, of Jackson, Michigan.
In the public schools of his native city Harrison Cowden pursued his
education until nineteen years of age, thus gaining a good knowledge of the
branches of English learning usually taught in such institutions. He then
secured employment in a sawmill, where he worked for fourteen years, and
then with the money he had gained through his own exertions he purchased
a farm in 1873, conducting it until 1876. In the latter year he removed with
his family to Virginia City, Nevada, where he was employed in the mines
most of the time through the succeeding five years. In the summer of 1881
he came to Ferndale, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of
land, and engaged in its cultivation until June, 1903, when he sold and moved
into Whatcom, where he owns a pleasant home.
In 1863 Mr. Cowden was united in marriage to Miss Mary D. Barr, a
native of Greenville, Montcalm county, Michigan, and the second daughter
of Samuel D. and Henrietta (Pratt) Barr, both of whom were natives of
New York and belonged to old American families. Mr. Barr was a pioneer
of Montcalm township, Montcalm county, Michigan, coming there from
Grand Rapids in 1838, and owned and operated a sawmill on Flat river, about
five miles above the present city of Greenville, which was then a wilderness.
His wife was the only white woman in the county for some months, and
Sarah E., the elder sister of Mrs. Cowden, was the first white child born in
the county. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Cowden has been blessed with
five boys and four girls: Frank; Clarence, who died in 1894; Arthur, who
is living in Everett ; William, of Ferndale: Charles, who died in August, 1902 ;
Effie, the wife of C. W. Heiser; Ettie, who died in 1899; Edna, the wife of
Eugene Pence, a druggist of Whatcom ; and Jessie, who completes the family
and is at home with her parents.
For eighteen years Mr. Cowden has been a member of the Knights of
Pythias fraternity, and he is a member and president of the Pioneer Asso-
ciation of Whatcom county. Political questions and issues are of deep in-
terest to him, and he keeps well informed concerning everything affecting the
welfare of the nation. He is active in the local and state work of the Re-
publican party, and in 1886 was elected county constable, and by re-election
has been continued in the office up to the present time (1903), a fact which
indicates his unfaltering fidelity to duty. He was a director on the school
board for three terms of three years each, from 1889 until 1898, and his
loyalty to public trusts stands as an unquestioned fact in his career.
182 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
RICHARD E. WALKER.
Richard E. Walker is the son of English parents, Robert and Mary A.
(George) Walker, now deceased, and he himself is a native of the great
metropolis of England, born there in 1852. He received his literary educa-
tion in London, and in that mighty business center it is not surprising that
his mind was turned toward commerce and trade. He was accordingly
articled to a firm of expert accountants, one of the foremost concerns of the
kind in London. This business is a more distinct profession in England than
in this country, and there are many grades before one reaches the stage where
he may be called "expert." Mr. Walker spent a number of years here, and
after acquiring a thorough training came to Canada in 1886. For two years
he was located at Victoria, British Columbia, in the capacity of accountant,
but in 1888 took up his residence in Tacoma, where he has continued ever
since. On his arrival the city was just going through the throes of the
"boom," and he accordingly engaged in the real estate business, as there
was then a very limited field for the accountant. But when the mushroom
activity suddenly collapsed in 1893, he fell back on his profession. It was
during this time that he was engaged by the commissioners of Pierce county
to investigate the county records for the preceding six years. This was the
first time the books had ever been gone over by an expert, and it was a very
important undertaking, requiring the entire attention of Mr. Walker and
four assistants for two years.
At the present time Mr. Walker is engaged exclusively in the real estate
and insurance business, and has given up his practice of accountant. He has
met with success in this line, has prospered financially, and owns a nice
home in Steilacoom. His offices are at 501-2 Equitable building in Tacoma.
The firm is now R. E. Walker & Company. In 1893, while Mr. Walker was
on a visit to Yakima county, he married Miss Margaret M. Clunas, whose
father was one of the most noted architects in Edinburgh, Scotland, but is
now deceased. They have two children, Marian and Ronald.
HON. RUSS S. LAMBERT.
Hon. Russ S. Lambert, mayor of Sumas and forest supervisor of the
Washington Forest Reserve at Sumas, Washington, was born at Belvidere,
Illinois, in 1867, and is a son of John C. and Cassie M. (Hale) Lambert.
The father was burn in Maine, and when ten years of age went to Illinois
with his father, who settled on a farm near Belvidere. The father of pur
subject is still living and makes his home at Belvidere, as does also the
mother, who is a native of the place.
R. S. Lambert was reared upon the farm, and continued to live at home
until he was twenty-two years of age, when he left the farm and came to
Whatcom, Washington, lie had received an excellent education in the public
schools, and also studied law hi the law department of file Wesleyan Uni-
versity, Bloomington, Illinois, from which he was graduated in 1889. He
then went to Springfield, where he was admitted to the bar, and then made
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 183
his way west. Until the latter part of 1896 he practiced law successfully at
Sumas, and then, becoming interested in mining and prospecting, was asso-
ciated with Jack Post and L. G. Van Valkenburg in the discovery and devel-
opment of what is now the Post-Lambert group of gold mines in the Mt.
Baker district, and has made Sumas his home for the past eight or nine years.
In 1898-9 he was a member of the Washington state legislature, being
elected upon the Republican ticket, from what was then the forty-eighth legis-
lative district for a term of two years. In 1899 further honors awaited him,
and he was appointed by the interior department forest supervisor for the
western division of the Government Washington Forest Reserve, which posi-
tion he still holds. The duties of this office take up all his attention, his head-
quarters being at Sumas. He is now and has been for some time mayor of
the town of Sumas. Although his attention is so engrossed, he has not lost
his interest in mining in the Mt. Baker district, and in a general way is
prominent in developing the resources, mining, lumber and agricultural, of
the country adjacent to Sumas.
Ir 189 1 he was married at Belvidere to Carrie E. Swail, and they have
three children, namely : Louise, aged ten years ; Sidney, aged eight years ;
and Esther, aged six years.
WALTER M. HARVEY.
Walter M. Harvey, a promising young lawyer of Tacoma, and at present
the deputy prosecuting attorney of Pierce county, is the son of Miles M.
Harvey, who was a New' Yorker by birth, and in 1849 rnade the decisive
move of his life by coming by way of the Isthmus of Panama to the gold
fields of California. When he and his companions arrived at Panama they
found they had missed the regular ship for the voyage up the coast, and so
anxious were they to reach the coveted lands that they embarked in a small
sailing vessel, making the journey in safety. While the fever was at its
height he was a miner, but when life in this western country took on a more
settled air, he engaged in the mercantile business in San Francisco, becoming
one of the leading hardware dealers of the city. He resided there contin-
uously until 1868, whn he moved to Albany, Oregon, continuing in the same
line of trade, but he returned to San Francisco in 1873; 'n 1878 he again
came to Albany, but in 1882 became one of the early residents of Tacoma,
for that was an early year in the history of Tacoma. During the remainder
of his life he was a member of the hardware firm of Harvey & Young, which
is now the Tacoma Stove Company. He died in 1898. Mary M. Curtis
was a native of New York, and during her childhood she had known Miles
Harvey ; when she grew to womanhood she came to San Francisco, and
there the two again met and were married. She now lives in Tacoma with
her son.
Walter M. Harvey was born while his parents lived in Albany, Oregon,
on March 3, 1873, and the first nine years of his life were spent in Albany and
San Francisco; he has made Tacoma his home since coming here in 1882.
He has the honor of being the oldest alumnus of the Tacoma high school,
184 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
as well as the first graduate of the Washington College at Tacoma, com-
pleting his course there in 1889. In the following fall he went to the law
department of the University of Michigan, where he received his diploma
in 1892, and on coming back to Tacoma was immediately admitted to the
bar. Since then he has been working his way to the front, and has already
accomplished so much that his future may be predicated with certainty. He
was assistant city attorney for two years, and in January, 190 1, was ap-
pointed deputy prosecuting attorney for Pierce county.
Mr. Harvey was married to Edna B., a daughter of W. H. Remington,
an official of the Northern Pacific Railroad in Tacoma. They have a daugh-
ter Elizabeth and also a little baby. Mr. Harvey is a member of the Union
Club, and is numbered among those who seek the best things for themselves
and their community. His residence is located at 501 North Main street.
MRS. J. M. RUCKER.
Mrs. J. M. Rucker was born in Ohio, January 29, 1830. Her parents,
Moses and Sarah Morris, were pioneers of Ohio ; the father being a min-
ister for more than fifty years. She was married to Wyatt Rucker in 1850;
her husband's father being a minister for more than forty years. To this
union were born seven children, four girls and three boys. The parents
were united in the Baptist church in 1871, and Mrs. Rucker is still a member
of this church.
She moved from Ohio to Tacoma in 1888, and to her present residence
at Everett in 1889, being the pioneer woman resident of Everett. The town-
site at this time was a dense forest, many fir trees more than two hundred
and fifty feet high standing where the best business blocks have since been
erected. There were no roads, and provisions had to be brought in by row-
boat.
It was quite lonesome at first, but the following year, 1890, Mr. F. B.
Friday and William G. Swalwell and family were induced to move here from
Tacoma. Shortly after this Mr. Charles W. Miley and J. H. Mitchell and
others came, so the monotony of living in the forest was broken.
Mrs. Rucker is a life member of the Woman's Book Club, and devotes
much of her time to reading not only the best literature obtainable, but keeps
herself well informed by reading the daily papers and commercial reports.
She came to Everett with her two sons, Wyatt J. and Bethel J. Rucker, who
bought one thousand acres of land, being the present townsite of Everett ;
and to them is due to a very large extent the prosperity and development of
Everett. They donated, in 1891, one-half of their entire real estate holdings
to induce factories to locate in Everett ; and it was through their untiring ef-
forts in common with the Everett Land Company that the fresh water harbor
now being built by the United States government was undertaken, there be-
ing already more than throe hundred and fifty thousand dollars expended on
this improvement. They also promoted ami carried to a successful termina-
tion the deal whereby James J. 11 ill and his associates acquired from John D.
Rockefeller the townsite of Everett, consisting of more than six thousand
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HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 185
acres of land, and all will agree that Everett has heen made by Mr. Hill.
Rucker Brothers are large owners of real estate in Everett, including
the Monte Cristo Hotel and park adjoining. They are largely interested in
the American National Bank, the Bank of Commerce of Everett and Bank of
Commerce of Coupville, Washington, and control the Everett Terminal Com-
pany. They have also been actively identified with the commercial organiza-
tions of the city.
HON. WILLIAM J. MEADE.
William J. Meade, the second son of Ira G. and Mary Palmer Meade,
was born on his father's farm in the town of Busti, Chautauqua county, New
York, September 5, 1856. He lived with his parents on the farm until the
age of twenty years, at which time he entered the Jamestown Union School
and Collegiate Institute, at Jamestown, New York, pursuing the English
academic course of instruction, and helping himself through school by teach-
ing during the winter months and graduated therefrom June 21, 1878. On
the 22nd day of June in the same year he entered the law office of Judge Orsel
Cook and Clark R. Lockwood as a law student and, clerk on a salary of twenty
dollars per month, and after reading the 'required't-hree years was, on the 4th
day of October, 1 881, at a general term of the supreme court, held at Rochester,
New York, admitted to practice in all the courts of the state.
After being admitted to the bar and taking .a much needed rest for a
period of about six months, he opened a law office in Jamestown and en-
joyed a successful practice for about one year. But this was not the field
where his capabilities could best expand, so he closed out his business and
came direct to Tacoma, arriving in the territory on Independence day and in
the city of Tacoma on the 5th day of July, 1883, a stranger in a strange but
promising land.
Tacoma with a population at that time of less than three thousand was
fully supplied with legal talent, as was also the lumber camps, sawmills and
other branches of industry, and the shingle taken from the door at Jamestown
was carefully laid away for a more favorable opportunity, and he engaged
in whatever employment offered to replenish his practically exhausted finances,
serving as clerk of Tacoma school district and in the several county offices
and in the United States district clerk's office, where he was employed when
he was elected in 1884 by the city council of Tacoma to the office of city
clerk, and so satisfactorily did he perform the duties of this office that he was
re-elected for fiye successive terms.
In politics he is a Democrat, and in 1889, when Washington was made
one of the sisterhood of states, he had the honor of being chosen from Pierce
county to represent the people in the house in the first state legislature, and
thereupon resigned the office of city clerk of Tacoma. At the expiration of
the regular session of the legislature, March 28, 1890, he identified bimself
with the Mason Mortgage Loan Company, as vice president thereof, a financial
institution which, through its active and energetic president, Allen C. Mason,
was one of the prime factors in building up and developing the city of
Tacoma and various sections of the state.
186 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
The city of Tacoma having now reached a population of about 47,000,
the charter under which it was acting proved inadequate to its demands,
and, under an act of the legislature authorizing the election of fifteen free-
holders to prepare and frame a new charter, an election was held for that
purpose June 10, 1890, and Mr. Meade was one of the fifteen members chosen
for this duty, and, owing to his long continued service as clerk and his inti-
mate knowledge of the needs of the financial department of the city, he had
special charge in the preparation of that portion of the charter relating to
the conduct of the office of controller.
With the close of the special session of the legislature, from September
3 to 11, 1890, his public career came to a close, and having been admitted
to practice law in the state, November 19, 1883, he formed a partnership with'
George T. Reid (Reid & Meade), and together they entered the active prac-
tic and are now one of the prominent law firms of Tacoma.
In fraternal circles he is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite and a
Knight Templar Mason and a Noble of Affifi Temple of the Mystic Shrine, of
Tacoma. This brief sketch, while not complete enough for a real biography,
indicates that its subject is a man of prominence and is popular in social and
business circles.
GEORGE D. C. PRUNER.
George DeWitt Clinton Primer, who is serving as the postmaster of
Blaine, was born August 7, 1848, in Bath, Steuben county, New York. His
father, DeWitt Clinton Primer, Sr., was the publisher of the Homesville
Tribune of New York, and died in 1868, at the age of fifty-four years, while
his wife, who bore the maiden name of Ellen Kelly and was a native of the
Empire state, died in the year 1854. In the family were three sons, of whom
our subject is the eldest, his brothers being Alphonso A., a resident of Pigeon,
Michigan, and Gustavus, who was killed while in the railroad service on the
Erie & Pennsylvania line.
In the public schools of Canandaigua, New York, George D. C. Primer
pursued his education to a limited extent, but was enabled to attend school for
only a few months on account of family circumstances. At the age of ten
years he put aside his text books and entered what has been styded the "poor
man's college" — a printing office, being employed on the Canandaigua Times,
with which he was connected for fourteen years, during which period he
gradually worked his way upward, mastering every department of the business.
In the spring of 1872 he went to Racine, Wisconsin, and became city editor
of The Advocate, but filled that position for only a few months. He then
went to Chicago and worked on the Chicago Times as advertising man. This
was the year after the great fire, and he therefore witnessed the rebuilding of
the city. For fourteen years he was connected with the Times, much of the
time being on the reportorial staff, and in 1885 he secured a position in the
office of the Chicago Globe, being on its editorial staff through the succeeding
four years. In 1889 he went to St. Paul as salesman for the Minnesota Type
Foundry, remaining there for six months, and in the spring of 1890 he came
to Washington.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 187
Mr. Pruner first located in Tacoma, working on the Tacoma News, after
which he went to Seattle, where he secured a position on the Telegraph, re-
maining there for about a year. In March, 1892, Mr. Pruner arrived in Blaine
and became editor and proprietor of the Blaine Journal. The publication of
the paper had been discontinued about six months before, but he took charge
and soon placed the enterprise upon a paying basis. He continued to issue the
paper until April, 1902, when he sold out, and his attention has since been
given to official duties. In 1894 he was elected justice of the peace, was re-
elected in 1896 and again in 1898, his term expiring in 1900. He was police
judge for the years 1898-9-1900 and in these judicial positions was strictly
fair and impartial in the discharge of his duties. In 1894 Mr: Pruner was
appointed United States customs broker, acting in that capacity until 1900,
when he was appointed postmaster of Blaine, entering upon the duties of the
office on the 6th of June of that year. In March, 1898, he was appointed
United States district court commissioner for a term of four years, but resigned
after receiving the appointment to his present position.
On the 4th of December, 1897, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Pruner
and Miss Evelyn E. Evans, a native of Oregon and a daughter of William
Evans, one of the pioneer settlers of Lewiston, Idaho. They have one son,
Clinton E., an interesting little lad of four summers. Mrs. Pruner belongs to
the Congregational church, in the work of which she takes an active and helpful
interest. Socially Mr. Pruner is connected with the Knights of Pythias fra-
ternity. His political affiliation is with the Republican party, and he has made
a close and thorough study of its principles, so that he is able to support his
position by intelligent argument. He is county committeeman from the second
ward of Blaine, and he puts forth every effort in his power to secure the suc-
cess of the principles in which he believes. In the discharge of public duties
he has ever been prompt and faithful and in the administration of the business
of the postoffice he is winning the commendation of all concerned. Whatever
success he has achieved is due to his own efforts, for, starting out for himself
at the age of ten, he has since depended upon his own resources.
THOMAS P. FISK.
The above named gentleman, at present a prominent attorney at Shelton,
is one of those who came to Washington shortly after its admission into the
Union as a state, and has shared in its subsequent growth and development.
By activity in connection with the business, fraternal and political life of the
new state Mr. Fisk has, during his residence of twelve years, contributed to
the extent of his ability toward its progress along right lines, and is already
firmly established among the successful professional men. He is descended
from an old English family which, in the person of Thomas Fisk, was repre-
sented in Massachusetts as far back as 1650. A descendant of this emigrant
ancestor and great-grandfather of the Shelton lawyer, was born in Con-
necticut and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Shortly after the
close of hostilities this retired warrior, like so many other of his compatriots,
emigrated toward the west in search of more fertile lands and better oppor-
183 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
tunities. He selected as his place of residence a location then wild and un-
known, but which at a later period became widely celebrated through the
'"Leather Stocking" stories of J. Fenimore Cooper. The place of his abode
was on the borders of the beautiful lake Otsego, source of the Susquehanna
river, and near the village subsequently named Cooperstown in honor of the
famous novelist who spent his whole life in this vicinity. Great-grandfather
Fisk was one of the earliest settlers of this interesting place, and came in time
to know all the characters in Cooper's story of "The Pioneer," had they been
real instead of fictitious personages. At a still later period he moved over
into Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, and located at Skinner's Eddy, where
he reared his family and passed the remainder of his days. His son, Samuel
S. Fisk, who was born at the last mentioned place, was a notable character
of his day in the religious circles of his section. A devout Methodist and
pillar in that church for many years, he became known far and wide as a
teacher of singing schools and for his fine voice, which was often heard leading
in the congregational music. Charles W. Fisk, son of this good man, and
noted like his father for the piety and rectitude of his life, was a carpenter
and builder by trade and held the position of class-leader in the Methodist
church for forty years. He married Susan, daughter of Thomas Brown, who
came from Massachusetts and bought in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, a
large tract of land, on which a hamlet grew up that was named Browntown
in honor of the family. Some years after the Civil war the parents removed
to Washington, where the father died at Slielton in 1901, but the mother and
five surviving children are all still residents of the state. Samuel S. is a
farmer in Yakima county ; John P. is in the railroad service at Shelton ; Charles
W. is a farmer in Mason count)-, and Clarence W. has charge of a store be-
longing to McDonnel & O'Neil at New Kamilake.
Thomas P. Fisk, who completes the list of children above enumerated,
was born at Skinner's Eddy, Pennsylvania, March 7, 1862, but in boyhood
removed to Kansas, where he received his education. He finished his classical
course in 1887 by graduation in the Kansas State Normal School at Fort Scott,
but meantime had made some headway in the study of law, which he resumed
with diligence as soon as released from other obligations. In 1888 he was
admitted to the bar at Fort Scott and soon after began practice at Smith
Center, Kansas, where he remained during the three years following. In
1891 he came to Washington and located at Kelso, in the county of Cowlitz,
where he resumed professional work and continued until 1899. In that year
he removed to Seattle and formed a partnership with Judge Piper, but in 1901
opened an office of his own at Shelton, where he has since remained as a
prominent fixture. He is engaged in the general law practice, and is regarded
as one of the successful members of the Washington bar.
Mr. Fisk has been active in politics since his location in Washington,
and has been honored with positions of prominence by the Republican party,
of which he is a devoted adherent. In 1898 he was made chairman of the
Republican state convention, an honor much coveted by ambitious men, and
in the session of the legislature of 1901 was elected secretary of the senate.
Mr. Fisk has attained equally high honors in the fraternities, for which social
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 189
intercourse he has developed especial taste and talent. A past master in
Masonry, he served for two years as chairman of the committee on jurispru-
dence at the session of the grand lodge of the state of Washington. He is a
past master of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and also served five
years as chairman of the committee on jurisprudence in the grand lodge of
that order in the state. The fact that he held these identical positions in two
grand lodges at the same time is mentioned as a coincidence as well as an
honor that is of unusual occurrence. In addition to the fraternities mentioned
Mr. Fisk is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and a regular attendant
at the lodge meetings.
In 1888 Mr. Fisk married Bertha, daughter of Albert Leichardt, who
came from Germany to Kentucky, where his daughter was born. The domestic
circle consists of the parents and five children, whose names are Lea, Bernice,
Elsa, Traverse M. and Charles A. Mr. Fisk has invested in land on Oyster
Bay, and hopes to realize handsome profits in time as the result of the develop-
ment of the oyster-growing industry, which of late has attracted much atten-
tion on the borders of the Sound. Those who know him best will wish him
every success in his venture, both financially and otherwise, in consideration
of his integrity as a lawyer and merits as a citizen, which are generally and
cordially recognized.
AUGUST VAN HOLDERBEKE.
August Van Holderbeke, the state horticultural commissioner, residing
in Tacoma, was born near Ghent, Belgium, in 1862, and comes of an ancestry
honorable and distinguished. The family have resided upon the estate where
our subject was born, nine miles from Ghent, for many years. Mr. Van
Holderbeke acquired an excellent education in the normal university at Ghent,
being a student in the classical department, where he qualified for teaching
in the French and Flemish languages. He engaged in educational work from
1 88 1 until 1887, and in the meantime devoted two days each week to the study
of the science of horticulture in the horticultural department of the National
University at Ghent. In 1887 he entered that department as a permanent
student, and devoted a year to the mastery of the branches which form a
part of the course. He was graduated in 1888 with the highest honors of his
class and with the splendid endorsement of his teacher, Professor Fred Bur-
venich, a noted scholar and horticulturist and the author of many works on
that subject. As is well known, the science of horticulture has reached its
greatest development in Belgium and Holland, and our subject was therefore
particularly fortunate in that his training was received there.
After his graduation he abandoned the work of a teacher and devoted
his energies to horticulture, establishing greenhouses and nurseries in dif-
ferent places in Belgium ; at the same time he was employed by the govern-
ment in giving lectures on horticulture until 1893, when he left his native land
and came to the United States by way of Canada. He went first to Montreal,
after visiting Winnipeg, Calgary and other places in Canada. On the 3rd of
July, 1893, he came to Tacoma, and being pleased with this country and its
190 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
future prospects he decided to become a citizen of the United States, instead
of Canada, and has since made his home here. He immediately engaged in
horticultural work, remaining here for two years, after which he went to the
city of Snohomish in Snohomish county, where he remained for three years.
He then became horticultural inspector for Snohomish county, which position
he filled until April i, 1901, when he was appointed state horticultural com-
missioner by Governor Rogers, and on account of his superior talents and
ability, as testified to in written recommendations from prominent men all
over the state, he was retained when Governor McBride came into office. Cer-
tainly no man of more prominence, ability or learning in this line could be
found for this position, and his services are highly valued by fruit-growers
all over the state. He makes frequent trips to the fruit-growing districts of
Washington to give expert advice and counsel to fruit-growers concerning
the many problems which continually confront them in their work.
In 1900, in Everett, Snohomish county, Mr. Van Holderbeke was united
in marriage to Miss Dumas. He resides at 406 South Tacoma avenue, while
his office is in the Northern Pacific Headquarters building. Faithfulness to
duty and strict adherence to a fixed purpose in life will do more to advance a
man's interests than wealth or advantageous circumstances. The successful
men of to-day are those who have planned their own advancement, and have
overcome obstacles' with a sagacity which has been attained only through their
own efforts. This class of men have a worthy representative in our subject,
who thoroughly mastered the work which he decided to make his life voca-
tion, and who by persistent, capable and untiring energy has steadily advanced
until he has perhaps no superior as a horticulturist on the Pacific coast.
ALEXANDER R. WATSON.
This leading business man and mining expert of Tacoma is the son of
Alexander R. Watson, Sr., and Patience Swanton, both natives of Scotland.
The former emigrated to this country in 1852 and made his home in Chicago
until 1862, when he went to San Francisco, California, whence after a few
years' residence he moved to Santa Barbara, where he lived till his death in
1872. He was a very talented man, was a photographer and also an author,
having been one of the earliest contributors to the Overland Magazine, with
which he had relations for many years. His wife is still living at Santa Bar-
bara, California.
Alexander R. Watson was born to these parents in Chicago in 1861,
but since he was a year old has lived on the Pacific coast. He was educated
in San Francisco and Santa Barbara and was specially diligent in the study of
surveying and civil engineering, so that he is an expert in those branches and
in mining engineering, in 1 88 1 he went to Elko, Nevada, and although he was
only twenty years old was elected county surveyor of Elko county, and some
time later was appointed by E. S. Davis, surveyor general for the state of
Nevada, to the position of deputy United States mineral surveyor. He lived
at Elko three years, and then came to the Puget Sound country, taking up his
residence in Tacoma in January, 1884. where he followed his profession of
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 191
surveyor and engineer. At a later date he embarked in the real estate busi-
ness, and within the last two years his brother, Randolph C. Watson, has
come to this city and joined with him in real estate dealing under the name
of Watson & Watson ; this firm now does an excellent business.
But Mr. Watson now gives most of his time and attention to his mining
interests. He is the secretary of the Sure Thing Gold and Copper Mining and
Smelting Company, which has one hundred and forty-five rich gold and copper
claims in the eastern edge of King county, Washington, about fifty miles from
Seattle, in the Cascade range. Mr. Watson was one of the originators of this
company, and six years ago helped locate the claims, since which time he
has been at work on the surveying and engineering problems connected with
the development of the mines, and his maps show that these have been ex-
tensively developed. The enterprise is now past the experimental stage, and
at present twelve men are at work getting out ore at the rate of sixty tons per
day. Within a very short time this output will be increased to from two hun-
dred to six hundred tons, and a smelter will be built, so that it has the pros-
pects of proving one of the most profitable mining industries in that region.
Just before coming to Tacoma Mr. Watson went back to his old home in
Santa Barbara and was married there to Miss Florence Gunterman. Two sons
have been born of this union, Harry T. and Alexander R. Watson, Jr., both
intelligent boys and students in the city high schools. The family reside at
428 St. Helens avenue, and they are all pleasant and most enjoyable persons
to meet.
JUDGE HENRY S. ELLIOTT.
Reared under the influence of forefathers who had been men noted for
learning, prominent at the bench and bar and in public affairs, and filled with
the unquenchable spirit of southern chivalry and military ardor, at the very be-
ginning of life Judge Henry S. Elliott had many advantages that are not the
lot of other men, and right well has he made use of these opportunities, as
the following brief record of his life will show.
Judge Elliott is descended from English and Scotch ancestors who were
early settlers of South Carolina. His great-grandfather, William Elliott, was
a member of Congress and was noted for his devotion to the pursuits of Nim-
rod. Grandfather Stephen Elliott was a native of Beaufort, South Carolina,
and after receiving a liberal education in Harvard University became a min-
ister of the Episcopal church. His son, Stephen Elliott, Jr., was -born in the
same town and was educated at Harvard ; he was a cotton planter and had a
fine plantation. During the Civil war he was a brigadier general in the Con-
federate army, took part in the battle of Port Royal, had command of Fort
Beaugard, and later commanded a battery of artillery along the Carolina
coast; he was in command of James Island near Charleston and of Fort
Sumter, repulsing an attack upon this latter fort; still later, while in command
of a North Carolina regiment before Petersburg, a mine was exploded by the
order of General Grant, and many of the regiment were killed, and he was
himself so severely wounded that he died from the injuries in 1867 at the age
of thirty-six years, when in the prime of a life that would have had a still more
192 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
brilliant future. He had been married to Miss Charlotte Stuart, a lady of
Highland Scotch ancestry ; she survived her husband only two years, passing
away in 1869. They were members of the Episcopal church; the family had
been in that faith for over a century, and two members had been Episcopal
bishops. Two sons were born to them, the Judge and a brother named
Charles P., who was a captain in the United States army, but is now retired
owing to disability received in the war with the Apache Indians.
Henry S. Elliott came into the world in the city of Beaufort, South Caro-
lina, on the 27th of March, 1858, and was. therefore, but nine years of age
when he was bereft of his father, being then reared and educated in the family
of his grandfather. His higher training was received in the Columbia Univer-
sity, and in 1879 he graduated in the law school of that institution. He then
removed to South Carolina and was for some time in the office of his uncle,
William Elliott, a lawyer of note. He was admitted to the bar in 1880, and
two years later went west and took up his residence in Buffalo, Wyoming,
where he opened an office. In the fall of 1882 he was chosen prosecuting
attorney of Johnson county and successfully discharged the duties of this
position for two terms ; he then continued his practice for ten years and was
again elected prosecuting attorney. He was made a member of the con-
stitutional convention, and although in the minority party was elected tem-
porary chairman of the convention. After this he was the candidate of the
Democratic party for justice of the supreme court, but with the rest of his
ticket failed of election.
In 189 1 Mr. Elliott came to Centralia, Lewis county, Washington, and,
after spending part of a year there, he removed to Chehalis, where he has since
resided and followed his profession. He has always been an ardent adherent
of the Democratic party, and his election to office in Republican centers shows
the influence of his strong personality and his eminent fitness for the repre-
sentative of the people. In 1896 he was elected judge of the superior court in
a very strong Republican district, and he served in that honorable position
for four years; in 1900 he was renominated by his party, but failed of election
by the narrow margin of sixty-three votes, the usual Republican majority
being fifteen hundred. While not serving on the bench Judge Elliott has been
very active in the interests of his party, being a very effective stump speaker.
In 1884 the Judge was married to Miss Mary H. Erhart, a native of the
state of Ohio and from a Pennsylvania Dutch family, who were early settlers
of the latter state; she was the daughter of John Erhart, now in Wyoming.
Six sons have been born of this marriage: Henry S., Jr., Clarence B., John
H., Charles P., Ralph M. and Robert B. They have a nice home in Chehalis
and are held in high regard in society- In the Masonic fraternity Mr. Elliott
is past high priest of the chapter and past master of the blue lodge. He and
his wife are valued members of the Episcopal church.
GENERAL LUTHER P. BRADLEY.
General Bradley is one of the most highly respected citizens of Tacoma
and one of the few remaining generals of the great Civil war, and he is now
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HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 193
spending the evening of a life which has been (leveled to the service of his
country in a delightful home on Prospect Hill, in the lovely city of Tacoma.
From both his father and mother he is descended from old New England
ancestry, and the Bradley family was founded in this country in 1650. The
progenitor of the Prentis family was a trooper in Cromwell's army, and was
from Essex, England. He came to the new world in 1640. and made himself
famous as an Indian fighter in the early history of the country. The paternal
grandfather of our subject, Phineas Bradley, was a merchant and farmer
in New Haven, Connecticut, and served as captain of artillery in the colonial
army during the Revolutionary war, while the maternal grandfather, also
from New Haven, was a captain of infantry for the colonies during the
same memorable struggle, and General Bradley, is fortunate enough to have
the diploma of the order of Cincinnati of this illustrious grandsire in his pos-
session. Luther Bradley, the father of the general, was born in New Haven,
Connecticut, followed merchandising as his life occupation and was a valued
member of the Congregational church. He married Miss Nancy Prentis, of
Stonington, Connecticut, and his death occurred when he had reached his
fifty-eighth year, while his wife attained the good old age of eighty-eight
years.
General Bradley, the youngest <>f his parents' thirteen children, and the
only one of this numerouV family now living, also claims the Charter Oak
state as the place of his nativity, his birth occurring in New Haven on the
22d of December, 1822, He received his education in the public schools of
his native city, and was engaged in the selling of books until September 15,
1861, when, in answer to President-Lincoln's call for volunteers to aid in the
preservation of the Union-, he offered his services to his country and was
commissioned lieutenant colonel of the Fifty-first Illinois Infantry, receiving
his command from the governor of Illinois. He became a member of the
Army of the Cumberland, and served in Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Ala-
bama and Missouri. In 1862, for meritorious service on the field of battle,
he was promoted to the position of colonel, and still higher honors awaited
him, for in 1864, he was made a brigadier general and participated in all the
campaigns with the Army of the Cumberland. He was wounded in the hip
and right arm by a rifle ball at the battle of Chickamauga, and at Springhill,
Tennessee, received a gunshot wound in the left shoulder. General Bradley
served his country bravely until the war was ended, and in 1866 he was ap-
pointed lieutenant colonel of the regular army, while later, in T879, was com-
missioned a colonel, and in that capacity served in the Indian wars in North
Montana, Dakota, Arizona and New Mexico. Continuing in active service
until December, 1886, he was then, on account of his age, retired from active
duty. His has been a long and active career in the cause of his country, but
he is now living quietly in his pleasant home in Tacoma, and none know him
save to wish him well.
In 1868 General Bradley was united in marriage to Miss lone Dewey,
of Chicago. She is descended from the same family of which Admiral Dewey
is a member. They have two sons, William D.. an architect in Boston, and
Robert P., engaged in the manufacture of line clay brick in Tacoma. The
General and Mrs. Bradley are Unitarians in their religions belief, and he
13*
!94 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
is one of the directors of the Historical Society of Washington and a mem-
ber of the Loyal Legion.
CHRISTIAN O. GINGRICH.
There is always a spirit of dashing enterprise and progress about the
business men of the west which is the more admirable when we consider what
they have accomplished in such a short time in the new and undeveloped
country beyond the Rockies. This air seems to pervade and act as one of the
causes of the success of the extensive grocery establishment of C. O. Gingrich,
who is undoubtedly the leader in this line of business in Lewis county, and
owns a store which is an honor both to himself and the city. How much
of this success is due to the sturdy German blood which runs in his veins,
or to the western enthusiasm, or to his own inherent character, is not to be
determined in this brief sketch, but it is enough to state that Mr. Gingrich has
won more than moderate success in his enterprises, and has certainly deserved
what he has gained.
The first of the family to come to America was grandfather Gingrich,
who located in Virginia, and his son Peter was born to him there. The latter
married Margaret Swatsontumber, who was a native of Germany. Peter
Gingrich lived to be ninety-one years old and passed away in 1901, but his
estimable wife still survives and makes her home in Michigan, having reached
the age of eighty-eight years. Both of these worthy people were members of
the Mennonite church. Eight of the ten children of these parents are now
living, and two brothers and a sister reside in the state of Washington.
Christian Otto Gingrich was born in Reed City, Michigan, on March 9,
1862, and as his father was a farmer, his youth alternated between the neigh-
boring schoolhouse and the duties of the home place. He decided that he would
adopt some other pursuit than that of his father, and accordingly began his
career by engaging in the hotel business. He went west to Taconia in 1888
and in 1889 came to Chehalis. He ran the Chehalis House, which was the
first hotel in the city, and in this way he got his financial start. After two
years spent in the capacity of landlord, he made the beginnings of his present
large grocery house. The first stock that he carried was valued at only about
$3,500, but he paid close attention to business, was liberal in his methods, and
knew how to win customers, and the result is that he now has stock valued at
$18,000. In 1895 lie erected a fine brick structure in the very heart of the
business district, with ample accommodations for all his trade. The store is
twenty-five by one hundred and twenty feet and runs clear through, so that
one entrance is on Market street and the other on Pacific avenue. There is
also a large warehouse which is twenty-five by one hundred feet. Besides his
extensive retail trade, Mr. Gingrich wholesales goods to the smaller towns
and maintains a branch store at Centralia. It is easy to see, therefore, that
he stands at the head in his line and is looked upon as one of the powers in
the business circles of Lewis county. He holds stock and is one of the direc-
tors in the Chehalis Fir Door Manufacturing Company.
Mr. Gingrich has a nice home in Chehalis and has been married about
live years, having been united in 1898 to Miss Edith Jackson; she is Canadian
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 195
born, but was reared and educated in Centralia, and her father, S. K. Jack-
son, resides in that place. The son born to them has been named Harold.
Mr. Gingrich also finds time outside of business to attend to social matters,
•and is very prominent in the fraternal organizations, being a member of the
Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, the Eastern Star, the Degree of Honor, the
Women of Woodcraft ; in politics he is a stanch Democrat.
D. D CALKINS.
D. D. Calkins, of Tacoma, is well known as a mining operator of the
northwest, and his business interests in the development of the rich mineral
resources of this portion of the continent and his labors in reclaiming arid
land through irrigation have proved of the greatest value to this section of
the country, as well as a source of profit to himself. He is a representative of
that class of men whose labors have led to the wonderful development of the
Sound country, men with ability to see in unsettled and apparently waste
places of the world the opportunity for improvement, and who utilize this
opportunity in a way that advances civilization as well as individual profit.
Mr. (.alkins is a native of Valparaiso, Indiana, born in 1869, a son of the
Hon. William H. and Hattie (Holton) Calkins. The father was born Febru-
ary 18, 1842, in Pike county, Ohio, and in 1853 accompanied his father's
family to Indiana, where through the succeeding three years he worked upon
his father's farm. In 1856, when his father was elected county auditor, he
became his deputy, acting in that capacity for two years, and in the spring of
1861 he was the city editor and bookkeeper of the Indiana Dail\< Courier,
published at Lafayette. His leisure hours during this period were devoted
to the study of law. At the breaking out of the Civil war he enlisted as a
private in the company commanded by Captain J. W. Templeton, of Benton
county, Indiana. This company was intended for the three months' service,
but the quota being filled it was transferred to the state service for one year
and temporarily attached to the Fifteenth Indiana Regiment, and the following
August it was disbanded. Mr. Calkins then went to Iowa and assisted in
raising a company in Jones county, that state, so that in 1861 he entered the
three years' service as a first lieutenant- of Company H. Fourteenth Iowa In-
fantry. Pie fought at Forts Henry and Donelson and at the battle of Shiloh,
and at the close of the first day's engagement at Shiloh the remnant of his
regiment surrendered, and he, with other officers, was taken a prisoner. He
was confined at Macon and Madison, Georgia, and in Libby prison, and in
October, 1862, was paroled. After his release he joined his regiment and was
ordered to Springfield. Missouri, to repel the invasion of the Confederate
General Marmaduke. He was then sent to Cairo, Illinois, and later to Pa-
ducah, Kentucky, where in 1863 he left his regiment with his health seriously
impaired because of imprisonment and exposure. He re-entered the army in
October, 1863. and was temporarily assigned to the One Hundred and Twenty-
eighth Indiana Infantry, then being recruited. In February, 1864, he was
promoted to the rank of major of the Twelfth Indiana Cavalry, with which
he remained until mustered out of service, in December, 1865, commanding
196 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
it more than half the time during active service. At the close of the war he
was brevetted lieutenant colonel for meritorious service.
On the 20th of June, 1864, Colonel Calkins was married to Miss Hattie
S. Holton, a native of Rush county, Indiana, and in December, 1865, he re-
turned to Valparaiso, Indiana, to which place his father had in the meantime
removed, and there he immediately entered upon the practice of law, wherein
he was destined to rise to prominence. In October, 1866, he was elected
prosecuting attorney of the district composed of nine of the northwestern
counties of the state, and served to the entire satisfaction of his constituents,
as was evinced by the fact that he was re-elected in 1868. In 1870 he was a
member of the Forty-seventh general assembly from Porter county, and in
May, 1S71, he removed to Laporte, Indiana, where he entered upon the prac-
tice of his profession with Judge Osborn. In 1874 he was nominated for Con-
gress by the Republicans, but was defeated by Dr. Hammond, of Monticello.
In 1876 he was again nominated and was elected by eleven hundred votes over
his old competitor, and was re-elected in 1878. In 1880 he was re-elected
from the thirteenth congressional district, and was re-elected from the same
district in 188 J. At the Republican state convention in June, 1S84, the year
of Blaine's defeat, he was nominated for governor of Indiana, but was de-
feated by Isaac P. Gray at the ensuing election, the total vote being five hundred
and fifty thousand. He continued in the practice of law in Indianapolis until
February, 1880, when he removed to Tacoma, and here his superior legal
attainments won him distinguished judicial honors. In April, 1889, he was
appointed by President Harrison one of the four supreme judges of the ter-
ritory of Washington, which position he filled until the admission of Wash-
ington into the Union. He then resumed the practice of law in Tacoma, and
in 1891 was a candidate for United States senator, but was defeated by Walter
C. Squire, of Seattle. His attention was then devoted to an important law
practice in Tacoma until his death, which occurred in 1894. His widow is still
living in Tacoma
During most of Colonel Calkins' congressional career the family resided
in Washington, and for one year of that time D. D. Calkins was a student in
the Chester Military Academy, at Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1884, when
fifteen years of age, he went to North Dakota and lived on a ranch for fifteen
months and then, returning to Indianapolis, where his father was engaged in
the practice of law, he attended the high school there until 1888, when he
received from the government an appointment to the position of assistant
topographer in the geographical survey, which work' took him to Montana,
where he remained for several months. Again locating in Indianapolis, he
there remained until the fall of 1889, when he came to Tacoma, and since
that time he has been engaged largely in mining and irrigation enterprises
in the northwestern coast country, in which two branches of development he
has had probably as much experience and is as well informed as any man in
this section (if the country. His operations in these directions have been
conducted in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia, during which
time he has made his headquarters in Tacoma. For two and a half years
he had charge of the big irrigation plant and development work at Prosser,
Washington, and at the present time his largest interests are in gold, silver
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 197
and copper mining properties on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where
he has valuable possessions. His office, however, is at No. 508 National
Bank of Commerce building in Tacoma.
In June, 1897, in Salem, Oregon, Mr. Calkins was united in marriage
to Miss Adelaide Rogers, a native of Indiana, and in the social circles of this
city they hold an enviable position, the hospitality of Tacoma's best homes
being extended to them. Their own pleasant residence is at iiio North
Ninth street. The name of Mr. Calkins has become well known in the north-
west as that of a promoter, whose labors have been effective and beneficial
in the development of the great material resources of this, portion of die
country, and with firm faith in the future of this section he is demonstrating
its possibilities and giving proof of its splendid business opportunities.
CHESTER THORNE.
That little hamlet in Dutchess county, New York, which bears the
name of Thorndale received its name from the fact that the family estate
of the Thornes has been there since 1700, and this land is still in the possession
of the descendants of that original household. This is also an evidence of
the antiquity, from the American standpoint, of the family's residence in
this country, whither they were emigrants from England. In one of the
more recent generations was Edwin Thorne, who was a native and life-long
resident of New York city, where he was a prominent financier and capitalist,
a director in the American Exchange Bank, and he died there in 1887. His
wife was Charlotte Pearsall, who also lived and died in New York city.
Chester Thorne was born to these parents on November 11, 1863. He
was a student in Yale College and was graduated in 1884, having made a
specialty of civil engineering. He then came west and secured a position
in the engineering department of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and for the
next three or four years was engaged in that work in Missouri. Kansas and
Nebraska. And it was during this period that he was fortunate enough to
win the personal friendship of that great railroad manager and exploiter,
H. M. Hoxie, first vice president and general manager of the Missouri Pa-
cific, and at least one of the results of these confidential relations was the
marriage in 1886 in New York of Mr. Thorne to Miss Annie Hoxie, a niece
of the railroad magnate.
In 1890 Mr. Thorne came to Tacoma with the intention of making it
his permanent home if it suited him, as it did, and his first importanl invest-
ment was in stock of the National Bank of Commerce. But be did not take-
much part in that institution's affairs until January 1, 1893, when he was
elected its president, which is his present position, and he is now the principal
stockholder. The National Bank of Commerce is the leading bank in Ta-
coma; it was organized August 25, 1887, and its capital stock is two hundred
thousand dollars, with a surplus of about one hundred thousand, and de-
posits of almost two million dollars. Mr. Thorne has, since [893, devoted
the greater part of his time and energy to the interests of this institution,
but his other financial interests in Tacoma and vicinity are large, and he has
invested large sums for the purpose of building up the city. lie is a member
198 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
of the Chamber of Commerce and the Union Club, and he and his wife are
prominent in society. They have one little girl named Anna.
THOMAS H. WILKINS.
Thomas H. Wilkins, president of the California Mining Company, of
Taconia, was born in England, near the city of London, in 1S51, and is a son
of Henry and Amelia (Hill-Hatfield) Wilkins, both now deceased. The
Hatfield family was an old and distinguished one, belonging to the aristocracy
of England, and the mother of our subject had in her possession their coat
of arms. When but a young boy Thomas H. was deprived by death of a
father's care and protection, and, although his older brothers had received
college educations, the family at that time was in somewhat straitened cir-
cumstances, and our subject accordingly decided to see something of the
world on his own account and made his way to London. While in that city
he became a choir boy in one of its cathedrals, and he also sang in the Crystal
Palace. Through employment with mercantile establishments in London
he secured a good business education, and when still a young man was made
steward on a trans-Atlantic steamship, on which he made several trips, and
later, in 1872, decided to make his future home in the United States. Ar-
riving here, he turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, which occupation
he followed in New York, Cincinnati, Kansas and Nebraska, and in 1874
he made his way to Arizona and embarked in business in Prescott, thus con-
tinuing for a period of about one year. Returning thence to the Sunflower
state, Mr. Wilkins took up his abode in Dodge City, where he conducted a
meat market, and was in business there during the strenuous frontier times
for which that place was formerly noted. From Dodge City he made his
way to Silver Cliff, Colorado, and in that place and the neighboring mining
regions he obtained that complete experience in the mining business that has
since enabled him to win such a high degree of success. He passed through
every branch of the industry, as a miner, timberman, ore-sorter, foreman,
superintendent, general manager and mine-owner, and also worked in the
assay office, in the smelter and concentrator, so that in addition to his experi-
ence in the mines he obtained a thorough scientific knowledge of metals and
of geological formations. After making a decided success in the mining
business, Mr. Wilkins was induced to abandon the occupation and invest a
large sum of money in a patent medicine business at Denver, which was con-
ducted on a large scale, but this proved a financial failure, and Mr. Wilkins
saw the accumulations of years of honest toil and endeavor swept from
him. With undaunted courage, however, he set about to retrieve his lost
fortune, and, learning the trade of carpentering, he worked successfully at
that occupation in Colorado for day's wages, finally becoming a contractor.
Coming to Tacoma in 1889, he embarked in that business in this city during
its "boom" days, and it has ever since continued to lie his home. After the
panic subsided he decided to return to the mining business, in which he has
met with an unusual degree of success, resulting, however, from his expert
knowledge of the business in all its details. During the passing years he
has developed a number of valuable gold properties on the Pacific coast, but
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 199
at the present time His interests are centered principally with the California
Mining Company, of which he is the president and principal owner. The
mines of this company, which are located at Shady Run, Placer county,
Colorado, were supposedly worked out by a company which operated them
twenty years ago and then discontinued as of no further value. On ex-
amining the property Mr. Wilkins discovered that their great wealth had
not yet been touched, and he accordingly purchased the property. The old
dump, which ran through the smelter, produced gold to the value of fourteen
dollars to the ton. On the property there is both placer and quartz mining,
they having two hundred solid feet of quartz which will keep a three hundred
stamp mill busy for about five years to come.
In the city of Rosita, Colorado, Mr. Wilkins was united in marriage to
Miss Rose B. Latta, and they have become the parents of three daughters,
Rosita Fern, Alice Irene and Nellie Leola. The eldest, although but eight
years of age, is an accomplished musician, and is often called upon to per-
form on the violin in churches and on other public occasions. Mr. Wilkins
also spends much of his leisure time in cultivating his musical tastes, being
a tenor soloist, and he is the composer of a number of choice selections, while
for a time he was chorister of the First Methodist church of Tacoma. The
family reside in an attractive and commodious residence at 3106 North
Twenty-fourth street, and both Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins are members of the
Mason Methodist church.
MARION G. DENTON.
Deeply engraved on the pages of pioneer history of Pierce county is
the name of Marion G. Denton, for he was among the first to locate within
its borders, and during his long residence in this section of the state he has
borne an important part in the substantial development and material progress
of the county. He was born in Sherwood, Branch county, Michigan, in
1847, an(l is a son °f J- W. and Mary L. (Gilbert) Denton. The father,
who was a native of Vermont, was for many years employed as a druggist.
Some time in the thirties he emigrated to Michigan, taking up his abode in
Sherwood, but in 1848 he removed his family to Rock Island, Illinois,
and from there, in 1856, to St. Charles, Minnesota, where he was numbered
among the early pioneers, having been one of the first to take up government
homesteads in that region. On account of ill health he had been obliged to
abandon the drug trade, and afterward gave his attention to agricultural pur-
suits. He continued to make his home in Minnesota during the remainder
of his life, and was well known as a prosperous and progressive citizen. The
mother of our subject, who was born in one of the New England states, de-
parted this life in Rochester, Minnesota.
Marion G. Denton was just one year old when the family left Michigan,
and after their removal to Minnesota he returned to Illinois to attend school.
About the close of the Civil war, in 1865, he could not longer resist the temp-
tation to enter the conflict, and. returning to Rochester, Minnesota, enlisted
for service in March, 1865, becoming a member of Company H, First Min-
nesota Infantry. His field of operation was Virginia, and in the following
200 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
July he returned to Minnesota and was mustered out at Fort Snelling. He
was the youngest member of his regiment. After his return from the army
Mr. Denton located at Rochester, Minnesota, which continued as the scene
of his activities for the succeeding twenty years, on the expiration of which
period he came to the Sound country and remained in the then new town of
Tacoma until the latter part of that year, when he returned to the east. Com-
ing again to the Evergreen state in 1884, he made a number of investments
and business deals and then returned to his Minnesota home to close his finan-
cial interests there, after which, in 1888, he came to Tacoma to take up his
permanent abode. He entered at once into the business activity of the place
and became a promoter of large real estate and mining propositions in Ta-
coma and throughout the Sound region. He organized and was president
of the Washington Land and Improvement Company, which purchased large
tracts of land and started the town of Centralia on its upward course, the
development work done by them there having been the means of increasing
its population from seven hundred to four thousand in a short time. They
also were the means of having the railroad built from Centralia west to Gray's
Harbor, while in 1884 Mr. Denton was one of the promoters of the Tacoma
Coal & Coke Company, one of the first companies to begin developing the
now extensive coal interests of Pierce county. This corporation opened
mines and established coke ovens, the first in the state, at Wilkeson, which
are still in active and successful operation, and he has also been largely in-
terested in gold and silver mines. His greatest, efforts, however, have been
centered in Tacoma, where during the " boom " days he owned much prop-
erty, but the panic of 1893 swept from him the accumulations of many years
of hard and incessant toil. He platted and placed on the market the Smith &
Denton addition to Tacoma, now almost in the heart of the city, and has been
a member of the Chamber of Commerce from its early days, while in 1893 he
served as its secretary.
The marriage of Mr. Denton was celebrated in April, 1888, at Rochester,
Minnesota, when Miss Mary H. Evans became his wife, and they have two
sons, Pierre E. and Gilbert. The family have a -wide acquaintance through-
out this section of the state, and their many noble characteristics have won
for them the warm regard of a large circle of friends.
HON. FRANK R. BAKER.
Talent is a product of neither some special locality nor of a definite
period of time, and the classic common of Boston is no more the abiding plac«
of genius than the distant pine-covered regions beyond the Rockies. Ancf
the truth of the couplet seems ever more apparent that " some must follow
and some command, though all are made of clay." Whether the spring of
power in the Hon. Frank R. Baker had its origin in those who have pre-
ceded him, or is the product of his own nature and character, there is no
doubt but that he owes much to the parents who gave the proper direction
to his mental proclivities and gave him a training where his tastes might
have free development.
Hiram Baker was born in the state of Ohio and came west to Iowa about
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HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 201
1850, where he located in Bentonsport. and this has been the family home for
the last half-century. He was an energetic business man, and most of his
active career was spent as a shoe merchant. He has also been a prominent
man in local affairs, and was a member of the city council for fourteen years :
he finally refused to hold the office longer, and his eldest son was elected
in his place. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Hammond, was a
native of Ohio and is now deceased.
The son, Frank R., was born in Bentonsport, Van Buren county, Iowa,
on November 11, 1862. During his public school training he was a hard
student, and thus early began thinking of the more serious problems of life.
His literary education was cut short, however, at the age of sixteen, when
he left home and went to the northwestern part of Kansas, where he remained
nearly two years, until 1879. On his return to Iowa he became a clerk in
a store at Ottumwa, but in 1886 he went to southern California and obtained
a fine position in San Diego county as superintendent of a magnificent fruit
ranch of seventeen hundred acres, an ideal place at the foot of the mountains.
But it was in 1889 that he made the move that he will ever regard as " the
important decision of his life," when he came to Tacoma, which he has made
his home ever since. At first he. . worked a| the carpenter's trade, but early in
1892 he became concerned in parties', Vi'n/l for_ the next six years was one of
the most prominent Fusionist-'sMh' the northwest. He is a man of ready
mother-wit, a gifted speaker, " full of figures," and having the ability to
mingle freely with men and influence them to his way of thinking. These
qualities gave him much local celebrity, and; he was chairman and secretary
of so many committees and conventions, precinct, county and state, that he
had little time for anything else. In 1892 he was elected a member of the
state legislature, was returned in 1894 and again in 1896. While in that body
he was not merely drawing his salary, but served on various committees and
was helpful in promoting beneficial legislation. One of his most commend-
able acts was in preserving the State Historical Society from bankruptcy and
dissolution by having an appropriation passed for its maintenance.
For three years Mr. Baker was the owner and editor of the Tacoma
Sun, and in this work showed remarkable ability as a literary man and a
manager. In 1900 he was a delegate to the national editorial convention
at New Orleans. Mr. Baker's argumentative and logical mind and his talent
for forensic contests inclined him to the study of law, in which field he could
find a better opportunity to display these powers. Accordingly, he had been
devoting his leisure time to this subject while he was in the newspaper busi-
ness, and on August 13, 1900, was admitted to the bar at Tacoma. He has
always made a reputation as a lawyer and enjoys a good practice. His
tenacious memory and his desire to investigate to the bottom of a matter
have given him a great advantage, and his power as a pleader before the
jury has often so impressed his hearers that he has then and there won clients.
But he has not neglected his literary propensities, and his productions often
appear in the local press. His ability as a poet is shown in his well remem-
bered poems, entitled " McKinley's Farewell " and " Anarchy,'' which were
published in the Tacoma Ledger.
Mr. Baker has been married twice. His first wife was Catharine Cul-
202 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
len, to whom he was married in Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1884, and the children,
Lena, Harry and Robert, are of this marriage. The second marriage was
celebrated in Tacoma, January 11, 1893, to Miss Jennette Miller, who has
become the mother of a boy, Rinaldo. Robert is his father's especial pride,
for he seems to have inherited the literary accomplishments of his father and
he is achieving a local reputation as a poet and speaker. He is a very pre-
cocious youth, and since he was able to read has been a student of the an-
cient and modern classics, during the last two years having been the author
of much poetry of high merit. He is also in great demand because of his
powers as an elocutionist, and the range of his versatile genius is from the
grave to the gay. But with this all, he is a manly young fellow, a fine athlete
and an enthusiastic member of the high school football team.
Mr. Baker is consul of Camp 288, Woodmen of the World, and is also
prominent in the Improved Order of Red Men. At his home, which is at
1922 South Yakima avenue, he has a fine library and everything indicative
of the scholar; his business office is at 505-506 in the National Bank of Com-
merce building.
MALCOLM E. GUNSTON.
The Malcolm E. Gunston Company, real estate, loan and insurance,
in Tacoma, is one of the largest and most important of its kind in the city,
and its annual transactions foot up to a very large total. It represents some
of the largest insurance companies, and the integrity and financial standing
of the members insure absolute confidence from investors in their representa-
tions. The offices of the company are at 210-213 Berlin building. The
principal member of the firm and the owner of most of the business is Mal-
colm E. Gunston, who has been identified with Tacoma's business interests
for twelve years. He is English born, and is the son of Edwin and Chris-
tina (Geddes) Gunston, both natives of England. The former was a retail
and wholesale provision merchant in London, and was very successful, re-
tiring in 1896 with ample means. He died in 1899, while his wife's death
occurred in 1888.
The birth of Malcolm E. Gunston took place in London, January 27,
1867, and after he had acquired a fair educational training he entered an
auctioneering and estate agent's office, learning what is in this country the
business of real estate, finance and insurance. He was there until he was
twenty years old, when he decided to better his lot by coming to America.
He was located in New York city and in Connecticut for a while, but in
1890 came to Tacoma, Washington, by way of the Isthmus, and he has been
in his special line of business here ever since. He was first a member of
the firm of Taylor, Gunston and Barber, afterward Pritchard, Taylor and
Gunston, until he became the principal partner and established the present
company.
In 1891 Mr. Gunston was married to Miss Marie Estella La Freniere,
and they have five children : Malcolm Dudley, Estella Christina, Virginia
Grace, George Tilley and Gladys Marie. They reside at 19 12 North Pros-
pect avenue and are highly regarded members of society. He is a member
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 203
of the Chamber of Commerce, the Union Club, and the Trinity Episcopal
church.
HEZEKIAH S. OWEN.
Men with lives of almost dramatic interest are so common in this new
land of America that their Argonautic ventures in the avenues of trade and
commercial enterprise have ceased to attract attention, but in a few hundred
years, when the surging floodtide of rushing business activity, refluent, leaves
the world in calm and steady progress, the writer of romance, casting about
in the past for a theme of brilliant interest, will no longer seize upon the
plumed knight and braggart warrior but upon the " captains of industry "
of the present age, men who build enterprises of colossal strength, command
larger forces of men than a Napoleon, and manipulate the instruments of
commerce for the advancement of civilization at a rate before unknown.
It is to a career which abounds in striking moves in the business world, with
many ups and downs and ins and outs, that the attention of the reader is
directed in this brief biography of the president of the Yreka Copper Com-
pany of Tacoma, one of the largest and most important mining enterprises
of the west.
The career of this gentleman begins back in the old Pine Tree state of
Maine, where his parents were native and lived and died. Arnee F. Owen
was born in Albion, Maine, and was a Quaker in religious belief and by
trade a cabinet-maker, being one of the foremost men in the •community.
His wife was Julia Stratton, who was born and reared in the same place
as her husband and was the most beautiful woman in the country around.
She died in Maine about 1875, and ner husband passed away five years later.
Hezekiah S. Owen was born to these worthy parents in Clinton, Kenne-
bec county, Maine, January 9, 1840. While attending the excellent village
schools and the academy of the place he was also engaged in acquiring a
knowledge of his father's trade, and he followed that pursuit until he was
twenty-one years old. Then the Civil war came on, and in December, 1861,
he enlisted in Company C. Fifteenth Maine Infantry. During the first winter
the regiment was encamped in tents at Augusta, but early in the spring went
south, where it saw its first active service. But Mr. Owen's hardest warfare
began when his regiment, under General Butler and Admiral Farragut, made
their advance on New Orleans, which resulted in the capture and occupation
of that city, where Mr. Owen was located for some time. Later under Gen-
eral Banks he was in some dangerous service in the Red River campaign,
and on into Texas and the Rio Grande district, and while here his term of
enlistment expired and he at once re-enlisted fur the end of the war. He was
in all the engagements of his regiment, never received a wound, and at the
close of the war was mustered out at New York city, with a record of service
for four years, eight months and eleven days.
Mr. Owen returned home and was married, after which he settled down
at Presque Island, Maine, for a year, and then went to Hallowed, where
he was a contractor and builder for many years. He was successful here, but
was constantly on the lookout for better fields, and when in 1879 the boom
204 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
in Leadville, Colorado, began, he went to that city and soon had twenty-five
or thirty men working under him as a contractor and builder. After a year
he also became interested in mining, and not only gained thereby a thorough
knowledge of such operations but made a success of his ventures in a financial
way. He continued both lines of business with profit to himself for five
years, but his health was impaired because of the high altitude, and on tbe
advice of his physician he went to San Francisco, where he remained two
months. While here he heard of the possibilities of the Puget Sound country,
and on coming here on a tour of inspection was so favorably impressed with
the site of Tacoma that he decided to remain. As this was in 1884 and Ta-
coma was then only a small village but with a bright future, Mr. Owen may
well be termed one of the " old timers."
On his arrival in Tacoma he at once embarked in his regular trade, and
soon after obtained the contract for the erection of the government buildings
on the Puyallup Indian reservation. In a few months he opened a job shop
and picture frame store on Commerce street, but at the end of a year he met
with the first of his misfortunes which seemed to pursue him like an angry
fate. His building and stock were a total loss by fire, but he at once moved
up to Tacoma avenue and started a new store, which later grew into the
leading art emporium of Tacoma. This was a prosperous venture, but Mr.
Owen was always thinking of new enterprises, and so he added to his busi-
ness by starting the " New England Dining Room," on C street with a seat-
ing capacity of thirty persons, but at the end of a month be had enlarged his
quarters and was serving five hundred persons a day and clearing one thou-
sand dollars a month. But in a few months he was again visited by fire,
everything being lost. Having had such good success, however, he opened a
fine lunch counter in a new building at the corner of D and Eleventh streets,
but in 1892 he sold out, retaining only his art store. He soon afterward
started another lunch counter on Commerce street, which paid him the first
year five thousand dollars in profits ; he next had a regular restaurant on
Pacific avenue near Thirteenth street, which he sold at a large profit after
conducting for six months. In the meantime, while occupying apartments
at the St. James Hotel, he and his wife barely escaped with their lives from
their third fire. About this time he sold both his restaurant and art store at
a profit, and then decided to take a surburban home at Steilacoom and enjoy
a needed rest, but he had been there only a short time when the fiery fiend
destroyed his property for the fourth time in four years, surely a record in
this kind of misfortune, of which, however, he does not care to boast. He
returned to the city and opened a restaurant opposite the Northern Pacific
depot, which he ran for six weeks, when he received a good offer and sold.
Altogether Mr. Owen has established six different restaurants in Tacoma,
and so successfully has he been in their conduct and management that he has
been approached with good offers to sell.
After disposing of this last business he and his wife went to California
to recuperate their health, but so full of restless energy is Mr. Owen that he
had been in San Jose but a short time before he was found in the conduct
of a restaurant, from which he cleared five thousand dollars in a short period.
Returning to Tacoma in 1896, he went into the restaurant business on C
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 205
street, opposite where the Fidelity building now stands, and at the same
time opened a real estate and mining broker's office over the Northern Pacific
ticket office. He was so successful in the latter venture that in 1898 he
sold out his restaurant, and since then has been buying and selling principally
mining stocks, being an officer in a number of different companies.
In October, 1901, Mr. Owen, with Mr. S. T. Lewis, purchased the claims
of the Yreka Copper Company on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and
it is here that he has laid the basis for a great enterprise, and one which
will prove of immense profit not only to the immediate owners but to all the
industrial development of the west. He is president and the largest individual
stockholder in the company. In March, 1902, they added sixteen more
claims, comprising what is known as the " upper " property, which contains
the most valuable and available ore. All the stock of the company is now
taken up and is worth two or three times its par value. Besides the copper
there is enough gold and silver in the ore to pay operating expenses, and the
mines are so near deep water that a short tramway is all that is necessary
to convey the ore to the company's ships; about two hundred and fifty tons
are shipped daily, and there are millions of paying deposits in sight, the ore
being quarried like rock. Arrangements have been made to build a smelter
on the spot with a capacity of five hundred tons per day, and everything is
being done to make this colossal property an enterprise second to none in
the west. Mining experts from other mining syndicates have examined the
deposits, and flattering offers have been made for the property, the representa-
tive of a Berlin company having offered five million dollars. The capital
stock of the company is now two million dollars.
Mr. Owen owns twenty lots in Tacoma, and is going to build one of the
beautiful homes of that city. He is a member of Custer Post, Grand Army
of the Republic, and in other ways is regarded as one of the best citizens of
Tacoma. In 1865 Mr. Owen was married at Hallowell, Maine, to Clara S.
Woodward, but sbe died while on a visit to her daughter in Minneapolis in
1879, leaving three children: Etta May, George L. and Irving. He was
married to his present accomplished and intelligent wife in Tacoma in 1882.
Her maiden name was Lydia R. Richards, and she is a native of Boston, and
has been of great assistance to her husband in business matters.
EDWIN J. McNEELEY.
From small beginnings to great results, from nativity in the extreme
eastern state of the Union to present residence in the westernmost state of
Washington, — would give the reader an outline of the life history of the
above named gentleman. Although he was born in the state where the lum-
ber industry of the United States may be said to have begun, his business
relations while he was residing there had nothing to do with that activity,
and it was only in Washington that he has become one of the largest shingle
manufacturers in the west.
His parents were Joseph and Betsey (Durgan) McNeeley, and the for
mer was an Irishman, who emigrated to Maine when a young man, and was
known for his sturdy character. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted
206 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
and was one of the hundreds who fell in that awful slaughter before Fred-
ericksburg, December 13, 1862. His wife was a native of Maine and died
there.
Tbeir son Edwin J. was born in Somerset county, at Skowhegan, the
county seat, in 1858. and bis boyhood was passed in that town. He had the
real Yankee industry and thrift, and when he was still a boy he began the
manufacture of candies, which he sold at wholesale as well as retail. When
be was eighteen years old, in 1876, he went to San Jose, California, and re-
sided there from April to October. But he then returned to Maine and re-
sumed his candy manufacturing. The favorite method of trading in that
country was carting the goods around from town to town, combining the
modern commercial traveler with the peddler, and for three years he sold
his sweets to the neighboring dealers. He then went west and located in
Boone, Iowa, where he continued his wholesale candy manufacturing for a
time, and later engaged in the grocery and crockery business. In 1888 Mr.
McNeeley made a tour of the west with a view to find a more congenial cli-
mate, and when he arrived in Tacoma in July he became so impressed with
the general appearances of the country and its possibilities for future de-
velopment that he determined to stay here. For his first venture he bought
a controlling interest and acted as manager of the Tacoma steam laundry,
but in 1890 he discontinued this and began buying and selling real estate and
loaning money. In 1893 he was elected president of the Tacoma Abstract &
Title Insurance Company, which office he held until the company was merged
with the Commonwealth Title Company. After a study of the local resources
he decided to embark in the lumber and shingle business, for this country is
magnificently endowed with the raw material. — is, in fact, the third state in
the Union in this respect. He made his start by selling shingles on commis-
sion. The first year was very discouraging, as prices were low and the mar-
kets seriously affected by the hard times, but he was possessed of the true
American grit, and, knowing that the tide would turn, he stuck it out and
soon had his business on a paying basis. When his trade justified it, he estab-
lished shingle mills at Tacoma and at Everett, and in 1898 articles of incor-
poration were granted for the firm of E. J. McNeeley and Company, with
Mr. McNeeley as president and John R. Palmer as secretary. Besides the
large mills at Everett and Tacoma the company controls the output of several
other plants on the Puget Sound, and the total product amounts to one mil-
lion shingles a day. These are not only marketed in the northwest, but go
as far south as Kentucky, and east to Vermont. The great success of this
growing and prosperous business is in a large measure due to Mr. McNeeley,
and the past record of his life shows how well be deserves this good fortune.
The main offices of the company are at 311-312 Fidelity building. Tacoma.
In 1898 Mr. McNeeley was elected president of the Washington Red Cedar
Shingle Manufacturers' Association of the state of Washington, and was re-
elected in 1899.
Mr. McNeeley is a prominent Mason, a member of the Chamber of Com-
merce, and is chairman of the board of trustees of the First Presbyterian
church, which is probably the leading church of the city. Tn February. 1880,
he married a native daughter of Maine, Miss Geneva A. Buck. They reside
in their pleasant home at 11 13 Sixth avenue.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 207
ABRAHAM C. YOUNG.
One of the most highly respected and valued citizens of Pierce county is
Abraham C. Young, the president of the Young Lumber Company, of Ta-
coma. Born at Caro, Tuscola county, Michigan, in 1849, ne 's a son 0I
William Young, who claimed South Crosby, Canada, as the place of his nativ-
ity. Early in life the latter, who was a farmer by occupation, located in
Michigan, but about 1865 he took up his abode at Gordon Grove, Decatur
county, Iowa, where he became a prominent and well known agriculturist,
and his death occurred there a few years ago. The mother of our subject bore,
the maiden name of Amelia Coon, and she, too, was born in Canada and was
of Scotch parentage. She has also entered into eternal rest.
Abraham C. Young received an ordinary public school education during
his boyhood and youth, and after putting aside his text bonks he began work
in the white pine woods of Michigan, being then only sixteen years of age.
Continuing in that occupation until his twentieth year, he then established
a country store in Tuscola county, which he conducted in connection with
a small lumber business, buying logs. etc. Two years later, however, he
returned to Caro, the place of his birth, and there resumed his mer-
cantile pursuits on a larger scale. When but twenty-four years of age he
was elected to the responsible position of president of the Tuscola County
Agricultural Society, while some time later he became president of the state
farmers' institute of the same county, and in 1887 was elected mayor of
Caro, all of which positions he resigned in 1889 to come to Tacoma. Few
men attained greater prominence or became more widely known in that en-
terprising city than did Mr. Young, and his popularity was well deserved.
After his arrival in Tacoma, and in company with his brother, he organized
the lumber firm of Young Brothers, and in August of the same year built a
shingle mill on the shore line at Old Town, the firm of Young Brothers con-
tinuing through one year and a half. In 1891 our subject organized and in-
corporated the Cushing- Young Shingle Company, of which he was made
president and general manager, and this relationship was continued until
September, 1892, when Mr. Young sold his interest to Theophilus Cushing,
and in the same year organized and incorporated the Young Lumber Com-
pany, the stock of which is all owned in his immediate family, the stock-
holders consisting of his wife, Frances J. Young, and their son. Delberl A.,
the latter of whom is secretary and treasurer, while our subject is the presi-
dent. During the first two years of its existence the Young Lumber Com-
pany did no manufacturing, the firm being exclusive and extensive wholesale
shippers of lumber and shingles, shipping to all points between the two
oceans and employing as many as six traveling salesmen in the east. In order
to secure material for this extensive trade without having to depend upon
outside manufacturers, Mr. Young in [895 organized and incorporated the
lumber manufacturing firm of Carlson Brothers & Company, the Young
Lumber Company taking a one-half interest, while the remaining half is
owned by David Carlson, Olaf Carlson and Andrew Johnson. This new cor-
poration erected a large lumber and shingle mill on the shore line at Old
Town, which now has a capacity of three hundred and fifty thousand shin-
208 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
&
gles a day, one hundred thousand feet of lumber, and employs one hundred
men. At this mill David Carlson is superintendent and office manager ; Olaf
Carlson, the log buyer; and Andrew Johnson, the master mechanic and
manager. For business purposes the firm of Carlson Brothers & Company
is a separate organization, but it is practically the manufacturing department
of the Young Lumber Company, which owns half the stock and concerns it-
self chiefly in marketing the product. This mammoth enterprise stands as
a monument to the thrift and extensive business ability of Mr. Young, and it
is without doubt that this will soon constitute one of the leading enterprises
of Tacoma. The Young Lumber Company also control the output of the
Reed & Andrews Shingle Mill, at Old Town, which has a capacity of a car-
load of shingles daily, and also that of the Kent Mill Company, at Auburn.
At Caro, Michigan, in September, 1871, Mr. Young was united in mar-
riage to Miss Frances J. Bearss, and they have an only son, Delbert A., who
is the secretary and treasurer of the Young Lumber Company, but takes no
active part in its management. After his graduation in Washington Col-
lege he entered immediately into the banking business, and is now assistant
cashier of the National Bank of Commerce in Tacoma. He is now twenty-
nine years of age. Mr. Abraham Young is a member of the Chamber of
Commerce, and is one of the enterprising and successful business men of the
city of Tacoma.
LAMMON E. SAMPSON.
For many years Mr. Sampson was one of the most prominent citizens
of Tacoma, held some of the most important elective offices, and in his death
the city lost one who had devoted his best efforts to the upbuilding of public
interests and had achieved an enviable distinction in the different departments
of life. He was the son of the Rev. William H. Sampson, who was born in
Brattleboro, Vermont, and received a college education, after which he studied
for the ministry and was ordained by the Methodist church when a young
man. He came to Wisconsin at an early day, where he gained prominence
both as a preacher and an educator. He was the first president of Lawrence
University at Appleton, Wisconsin, and was connected with that institution
for many years. He retired from the ministry at the age of seventy-five and
came to Tacoma to spend his remaining days with his son, Lammon, and here
he was greatly beloved by the people for his beautiful character, and is still
remembered and spoken of with great affection. He died in Tacoma in 1892
at the age of eighty-three, having lived in this city since 1884. His wife was
Rhoda Beebe. who was born in New England, and is also deceased.
Lammon E. Sampson was born at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in Novem-
ber, 1848, and he was quite young when he entered Lawrence University.
He did nut remain to finish his four-year course, however, for in 1864 he left
school to join the army; he was drummer in the Fortieth Wisconsin Regi-
ment, and served from January of that year till the close of the war. Com-
ing out of the army he attended college for one year and then entered a news-
paper office at Appleton and learned the printer's trade. He had become
thoroughly acquainted with journalism when, in 1872, he went to Salina,
[PUBLIC LIBRARY]
.STOK.UEHOXXHO
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 209
Kansas, and with his brother, Mason D. Sampson, who had served through-
out the war in the Fortieth Regiment and had become a captain, establisbed
the Saline County Journal. It is said that Mr. Sampson was the first editor
to use the word " cyclone " in describing the zephyrs which were in the habit
of sweeping across Kansas prairies in the early seventies.
In March, 18S1, Mr. Sampson and his wife came to Tacoma, which was
then a village in a forest, and his energy soon placed him among the city's
foremost citizens. He accumulated property, and spent a great deal in the aid
of public enterprises. About the first office was that of postmaster, which
he held by appointment from President Arthur in 1882, and notwithstanding
bis strong Republican sympathies his services were so satisfactory that he
continued under President Cleveland's administration, but after six years'
service resigned in 1887. In the following year he was elected city treasurer
for two years, and in 1890 was made county commissioner, and it was during
this four-year term that the splendid Pierce county court house was built.
He became a member of the city council in 1895, an<i from 1896 to 1900 was
chairman of the finance committee of that body. In 1899 Mr. Sampson
formed a partnership in the real estate business with his brother-in-law, J.
C. Guyles, and the firm is still. in.e.\i_s£eHC-e:.under the name of Sampson and
Guyles. He was still in the^prinie pf. life and mental powers when he was
called away by death on March 5. tpo'2, and'ras help has been greatly missed
in many departments of the affairs of the city and county. He had always
held a leading position in the ranks of, the Republican party, belonged to
Custer Post, Grand Army of the: Republic, and all the newspaper accounts
published at the time of his death were highly eulogistic of his public and
private career.
Mrs. Sampson, who survives and resides in Tacoma, was married to Mr.
Sampson at Salina, Kansas, in 1878. Her maiden name was Miss Lou E.
Van Zandt, and she was a native of Jacksonville, Illinois, and the daughter
of John A. and Martha (Carnes) Van Zandt, one of the old families of that
place. She received a good education, finishing at the Athenaeum, one of
the prominent institutions of learning at Jacksonville, and she determined to
become a school teacher. Accordingly she left home in 1873 and came to
Kansas, locating at Salina, where she was one of the successful and pop-
ular teachers until her marriage in 1878. She is also well known in Tacoma
and enjoys the regard of many friends. Her two sons, William and John,
are both students in Whitworth College.
EDGAR I. THOMPSON.
Edgar I. Thompson, of the law firm of Winne & Thompson, of What-
com, Whatcom county, Washington, was born at Deposit, Broome county,
New York, April 12, i860, son of William R. and Peninah G (Hulce)
Thompson. His father was born in Connecticut and was a civil engineer. In
early life he removed from Connecticut to Deposit, New York, when he met
and married Peninah G Hulce. of the Flulce family, so widely known through-
out Broome and Delaware counties. In the early forties he, together with
two other parties, surveyed the larger part of the eastern part of the state of
14*
210 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Wisconsin for the government. In the year 1859 he removed with his fam-
ily from Deposit, New York, to Freeport, Stephenson county, Illinois, where
he engaged in farming. He died at Freeport in 1872 and was buried there.
The paternal grandfather was James Thompson, of Woburn, Massa-
chusetts, and who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and later became
member of Congress from the first congressional district of Massachusetts.
His brother, Captain Isaac S. Thompson, of Flint, New York, was a captain
in the Revolutionary war. Another one of the family was Rev. Leander
Thompson, a distinguished Congregational minister at North Woburn, Mass-
achusetts, who compiled the history of the Thompson family.
The paternal great-great-grandfather was Benjamin Thompson, born at
North Woburn, Massachusetts, in the colonial days. He was a distinguished
chemist and civil engineer, and became famous in America, England, France
and Germany as Count Rumford. Although his brothers espoused the colon-
ial side, he remained ever true to the crown, and at the opening of that con-
flict he went to England and offered his services. Entering the British army,
he was rapidly promoted for distinguished services not only in America but
later in Europe, where he became a captain. He was made a baronet by
George the Third. While stationed with the English troops at Bavaria, he
became chief adviser for the King of Bavaria, who conferred upon him the
title of " count,'' and in honor of his- mother, a Rumford, a member of a noble
English family, he selected her name, and was thereafter known as Count
Rumford, under which title and name he achieved his fame as an engineer,
a chemist, a philanthropist and a scientist. He endowed the chair of chemical
science at Harvard College, which is still conducted under his endowment.
He died at Auteuil, a suburb of Paris, in 1814.
The Thompson family in America was founded by James Thompson,
who came with his family from England in 1630. in Governor Winthrop's
party, landing at Salem. He afterwards settled with his family at Woburn,
Massachusetts, which remained the family home for several generations.
Edgar I. Thompson, at the age of eighteen years entered the State
Normal School at Whitewater, Wisconsin, completing the course in three
years and six months, after which he taught school for one year, and at the
close of which he commenced the study of law with the law firm of Page &
Cass, of Whitewater, Wisconsin. After reading law for one year he entered
the senior law class of the law school of the Wisconsin State University and
graduated with the law class of 1885. He then returned to Whitewater and
began the practice of his profession, and that same year was elected justice
of the municipal court. After serving out his term of two years he was re-
elected and served one more year, when he resigned and accepted an appoint-
ment as secretary and assistant treasurer of Olivet College at Olivet, Mich-
igan. The close confinement and constant mental application of this position
caused his health to give way, and under the advice of his physician, Mr.
Thompson came to the Pacific coast and set up in the practice of his profes-
sion at Tacoma.
Having learned the creamery business when a boy on a farm at White-
water. Wisconsin, Mr. Thompson built and established, during the hard
times in 1894, the Sumner Creamery, aside from his law practice. This-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 211
creamery enterprise became so remunerative and required such constant care
that Mr. Thompson moved from Tacoma to Sumner, where he practiced his
profession and looked after the interest of his creamery. He was city attorney
for that place up to the time he removed to Whatcom and established himself
in business here in 1901.
While living at Sumner Mr. Thompson organized the Washington State
Dairymen's Association, and drew up and secured the passage of the dairy
laws of this state in the legislature in 1895. Tlie passage of this dairy law
practically stopped the importation of oleomargarine into this state, thus creat-
ing a demand for the home product and saving nearly one million dollars per
annum to the people of Washington. Mr. Thompson has done more than
any other man for the dairy interest of this state.
Wherever he is, Mr. Thompson is always prominent in church and social
life, always useful in Sunday school work, and, having a good tenor voice
and being a ready reader of music, he is ever ready and willing to assist in
the singing on all occasions. Mr. Thompson plays the piano, violin and bass
viol. He is a good impromptu speaker and a great worker in any cause for
Christ and humanity.
ULRIC L. COLLINS.
Ulric L. Collins, who is filling the position of county clerk and is ex-
officio of the superior court of Everett, has been a resident of Snohomish
county for seven years, while his residence in the state of Washington dates
from 1876. He is a native of Ohio, born October 5, 1847. The family was
founded in America by three brothers, who came from England to the new
world about the time of the Revolutionary war, one settling in Pennsylvania,
another in New England and the third in the south. Mr. Ulric Collins comes
of the Pennsylvania branch of the family. His paternal grandfather was
the first of the name to leave the Keystone state and take up his abode in
the Western Reserve of Ohio, where he became an extensive real estate
owner. His father, William Collins, was born in Pennsylvania and was
given the name which was a prominent one in the family for many genera-
tions, covering nearly two hundred years. He was about twenty-one years
of age when the family removed to Ohio, and there he engaged in teaching
school. He became a member of the United Brethren church and upon its
division, occasioned by difference of opinion concerning the missionary ques-
tion, he joined the Methodist church. In his political views he was a Whig.
After devoting his early life to educational work he became a lawyer and
practiced his profession up to the time of his death, which occurred when
he was forty-two years of age. He married Margaret Burn's, and they be-
came the parents of seven children, three of whom are living, but the subject
of this review is the only one in Washington. He had two brothers who
were soldiers in the Civil war. William J., who is now a ranchman of Cali-
fornia, served for a time in Company L of the Ninth Indiana Cavalry, run-
ning away from home in order to join the army. He was captured at the
battle of Sulphur Springs, in Tennessee, and for nine months was held as a
captive in a rebel prison. Barnabus was a quartermaster of the Eighty-
212 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
ninth Indiana Infantry, appointed to that position by Oliver P. Morton, then
governor of Indiana. He was captured but was paroled on the battlefield
at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He died in Sacramento, California, where he
was at the time serving as a member of the state legislature. Addison B.,
another member of the family, became a resident of California in 1850.
There he was engaged in mining and in driving a stage in the early days, in
which state his death occurred. One sister of the family is living in Wash-
ington, D. C.
Ulric L. Collins is indebted to the public school system for the educa-
tional privileges he enjoyed. He learned the printer's trade and afterward
took up the study of telegraphy, and for a number of years was engaged in
railroad work. In 1876 he came to the west and was with the Northern
Pacific Railroad Company, first in the construction department and later in
the operating department after the road had been completed to Pend Oreille
Lake. Subsequently he was in the "employ of the Oregon & California road
as a representative of the construction department, and was with that road
until its line was completed to Ashland, Oregon. He then returned to the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company, with which he was afterward associated
for eight years. He then located in Tenino, Thurston county, where for
seven years he served as agent of the road. Later he lived in Arlington and
subsequently in Snohomish, where he represented the Seattle & National
Railroad. In 1898 he was elected clerk of the Snohomish county and is now
serving in that capacity.
In his political views Mr. Collins is a stalwart Republican. He has
always affiliated with the party, believing firmly in its principles, and has
cast his ballot for its candidates since he became a voter. While residing
in Thurston county he was elected a member of the state legislature and
served in the sessions of 1891-2. He was an active and valued member of
the house, taking an interested part in its work, and he served as chairman
of the committee on the state capitol and capitol grounds, and was a member
of four other committees. In 1898 he was elected clerk of Snohomish county,
and has held that office for two terms, being re-elected in 1900. During this
period the work of the office has steadily increased until during the past
year the business has been the greatest in the record of the county. He has
frequently attended the city, county, congressional and state conventions of
his party, and was a member of the first Republican state convention after
the admission of Washington into the union, the meeting being held at
Walla Walla in 1889.
On the 5th of October, 1892, in Thurston, Washington, Mr. Collins
was united in marriage to Miss Zella F. Loomis. a daughter of Bennet E.
Loomis of Bucoda, this state. They now have three children: Ulric B.,
Zella L. and William Verde. Mrs. Collins belongs to the Everett Ladies'
Club, and both our subject and his wife occupy an enviable position in social
circles in the regard of their many friends. In addition to their home in
Everett he is interested in farming property in this county. His fraternal
relations connect him with both the lodge and uniformed rank of the Knights
of Pythias, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Forresters of
America and the Royal Arcanum.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 213
HAMILTON PITCHER.
Lumbering is not only one of the profitable industries but is also one
of the attractive pursuits, for the free outdoor life of the great forests and
the constant excitement attendant upon the hazardous undertakings con-
nected with the work entice many men of hardy, courageous nature into the
occupation. The state of Washington has many sawmill plants within its
borders, and one of the largest is that owned by Hamilton Pitcher, at Napa-
vine, Lewis county. This mill has a capacity of forty thousand feet of
lumber a day; it was built by Mr. Pitcher in 1898, and he has seven hundred
acres of timber from which to draw his supply; a railroad track three-quarters
of a mile long has been built to the timber, which expedites the matter of
transportation and of handling the logs. The plant furnishes employment
to thirty-five men and, with the planer in connection, is able to get out orders
of any dimensions, mostly of fir. but some cedar. Most of the product is
shipped to eastern markets, such as Minneapolis, Chicago and others.
Air. Pitcher's ancestors were of English stock, and his parents, Peter
and Susana (Pettit) Pitcher, were both born in Canada. They were farmers
by occupation and spent their entire lives in Canada, being faithful adherents
of the Methodist church. The elder Mr. Pitcher died when in his sixty-
second year, in 1882, but his wife survived him many years and passed
away in 1902, aged eighty-five years. They were the parents of thirteen
children, and ten of them are still living.
Hamilton Pitcher is the only member of the family in Washington.
He was born near Hamilton, Canada, on the 18th of March. 1849, was
reared on his father's farm and received his education in the public schools
of the neighborhood. His coming to Lewis county dates in 1889, and his
first location was on the south fork of the Newaukon river, where he pur-
chased a farm and conducted it for a few years. Selling his land he bought
a mill on the Chehalis river, and secured a contract to saw the plank for
the county road; as he sawed the plank he moved his mill along the river
farther away from Chehalis. His now thoroughly equipped mill is a reliable
source of profit to him, and he is accounted one of the leading and progres-
sive business men of the county.
In January, 1903, Mr. Pitcher bought another mill plant with twenty-
five million feet of fine timber. This mill has a capacity of sixty thousand
feet per day; has one and a half miles of railroad, with logging locomotive
and switching locomotive. The plant and timber are worth fifty thousand
dollars. He also owns ten million feet of timber west of Napavine and still
has the same quantity at the old mill. Every wheel is rolling and the in-
dustry thrives under Mr. Pitcher's able management. 1 le has recently added
two hundred acres to his real estate holdings in Washington, and carries a
stock of about two million feet of lumber in his yards.
In 1876 Mr. Pitcher was married to Miss Ellen Wymcr, a native of
Canada, and her parents were also born there. They have one daughter,
Susana Catharine. Mr. Pitcher has his residence near his mill and also owns
one hundred and sixty acres of timber on the south fork. He is a member
of the Republican party, has the religious views of the Methodist church and
is a very substantial citizen of the county.
214 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
ALVAH B. HOWE.
Among the successful and prominent business men of Pierce county is
Alvah B. Howe, president of the Pioneer Bindery & Printing Company of
Tacoma. This company was incorporated by Mrs. Phebe A. Howe and
her three sons, and the present officers are: Alvah B. Howe, president;
Mortimer Howe, vice president, and William Howe, secretary. The mother
is a native of Cayuga county, New York, and as early as 1877 she came
to the Pacific coast, where in a small way she engaged in the book-binding
and printing business in Walla Walla, Washington. After nine years spent
in that city she removed in 1887 to Tacoma and resumed her former occu-
pation, and in 1889, with her three sons as stockholders, incorporated the
Pioneer Bindery and Printing Company. The sons were all trained to this
business from early life, thus being thoroughly familiar with every detail
connected therewith, and they now manufacture all kinds of blank books,
hank, county and office supplies and do a general job printing business.
Their close attention to business and honorable methods have won for them
a large and profitable patronage, their trade now extending over the entire
northwest and into Alaska, and they have all the machinery and appliances
necessary for the highest grade of work, and are justly deserving of the
extensive patronage which they are now enjoying.
The Howe brothers were all born in Cayuga county, New York, and
the date of our subject's birth was the 8th of March, 1872. All received their
educations in the public schools of Walla Walla and Tacoma, Washington,
and as stated above have become thoroughly acquainted with every detail con-
nected with the printing and binding business. Mrs. Howe is entitled to
the highest credit for the founding and subsequent growth of this business,
and also for the training of such a trio of accomplished young business men.
Alvah B. Howe was married in 1893, Miss Marion Courtenay becoming his
wife, and one little daughter has been born to brighten and bless their home,
Marion C. The three brothers give their political support to the Repub-
lican party, and in his fraternal relations our subject is a member of the
Masonic order, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights
of Pythias. They are numbered among the leading and substantial business
men of Pierce county, and have earned and retained the confidence and es-
teem of a wide circle of acquaintances.
MORRIS GROSS.
Morris Gross, the pioneer dry-goods merchant of Tacoma, has been
engaged in business operations here since 1879, and is now numbered among
the leading merchants of the city. He is a native of Russian Poland, born
on the 19th of February, 1859, his parents being Aaron and Salata (Moses)
Gross, both also natives of Poland, born in Rypin city, which was also
the birthplace of our subject. He received but a limited education in the
Hebrew schools of his native city, and in the land of his birth learned the
tailor's trade. When twenty years of age he came direct to Tacoma, Wash-
ington, which at that time contained about three hundred inhabitants, and,
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 215
having no knowledge of the language spoken in this country, he was obliged
to attend night school to learn the English language. In 1879, in company
with his brother, he began business operations in a small way at his present
location, the first year his sales amounting to only about nine thousand dol-
lars, while the second year they reached fifteen thousand dollars, and by
their indefatigable industry and close attention to business the business con-
tinued to increase from year to year until in 1891 the sales amounted to four
hundred and sixty thousand dollars. Prior to the disastrous panic of 1893
the brothers had erected a large block on the corner of Ninth and C streets,
at a cost of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, and after this terrible
financial storm had passed they were obliged to sell the structure for forty-
nine thousand dollars. Mr. Gross, however, managed to pass through the
panic safely, and in 1895 resumed business at his old location, where he
has met with a high and well merited degree of success. Fie now carries a
very large and well selected stock of everything to be found in a first-class
dry-goods establishment. His store building is located at 906-908-909-910
Pacific avenue, in the very heart of the business center, and has a frontage
of eighty feet. This is an exceedingly well kept and up-to-date establish-
ment in every particular, and its owner not only enjoys an extensive patron-
age, but has also gained and retained the confidence of the business population
of the city in which he has so long been an important factor.
The marriage of Mr. Gross was celebrated in 1894, when Miss Mollie
Bush became his wife. She is a native of New York city and a daughter
of Henry Bush, a well known merchant of that city. This union has been
blessed with one son and one daughter, both born in Tacoma, Amy and
Henry Arthur. Mr. and Mrs. Gross are adherents of the Hebrew faith,
but are very liberal in their views. In political matters he is identified with
Republican principles, while fraternally he is a Thirty-second degree Scottish
Rite Mason and a Shriner, having received the sublime degree of a Master
Mason in Tacoma Lodge No. 22, A. F. & A. M. He is also a member
of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Public-spirited and
progressive in all his ideas, he lends his influence to all measures which he
believes useful to the majority, and always plays the part of an earnest and
patriotic citizen.
ROBERT GRAY HUDSON.
Robert Gray Hudson, one of the prominent members of the bar of
Washington, maintains his residence at Tacoma, where he has been actively
engaged in the practice of his profession for eleven years. He is a native of
Louisville, Mississippi, born on the 23d of June, 1848, is of German descent,
and his ancestors settled in South Carolina soon after the close of the Revo-
lutionary war. His grandfather, James Hudson, was born in that state, was
a planter by occupation and was a valued member of the Baptist church.
He married Miss Mary Spencer, also a native of Mississippi, and he was
called to his final rest at the early age of thirty-two years, but his wife
attained the good old age of ninety years. Robert Spencer Hudson, a son
216 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
of this worthy couple and the father of our subject, was born in the Edgfield
district of South Carolina in 1820, was educated for the practice of law and
began his professional career in Louisville, Mississippi. He soon rose to
prominence in his chosen profession, and his ability and earnest labor won
for him a large fortune, enabling him to take up his residence on his own
plantation about twenty miles from Louisville, where he gave his aid only
to important cases until 1858, and in that year was made district attorney.
In i860 Mr. Hudson removed to Yazoo county, Mississippi, where he pur-
chased a large plantation, and in the following year became circuit judge,
holding that important position until after the close of the Civil war. He
was a heavy loser as the result of this terrible conflict, having been the
owner of many slaves, and after the close of the struggle he resumed his
law practice at Yazoo City. He was elected a member of the first state con-
vention after the war, and was made a member of the state legislature in
1876, also continuing his law practice until his life's labors were ended in
death, when he bad reached the sixty-ninth milestone on the journey of life.
For his wife Mr. Hudson chose Miss Nancy Alvira Gray, a native of South
Carolina, where she was born in the Abbyville district, of old English an-
cestry, who had settled in the south just after the Revolution. She was
the daughter of Frederick Gray, a native of South Carolina and a prominent
and well known planter of that state. By her marriage Mrs. Hudson became
the mother of eight children, seven of whom are now living, and all reside
in the state of Mississippi with the exception of the subject of this review.
Robert Gray Hudson received his education in the University of Missis-
sippi, at Oxford, where he was graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1872.
Soon after his graduation he began reading law with his father, and was
admitted to practice in 1875, the father and the son continuing practice
together until the former's retirement in 1887, after which the latter con-
tinued in business with Robert S. Holt, his present partner, until 1891, at
Yazoo City. In that year he came to Tacoma, Washington, and joined his
partner, Mr. Holt, who had preceded him to Tacoma, in the law practice,
in which he has met with a high degree of success, having a large corpora-
tion clientage. In political matters he had given his support to the Democ-
racy until 1896, but in the presidential election of that year cast his first
Republican vote and has since continued to uphold the principles of that party.
He is at the present time president of the Washington State Bar Associa-
tion, with which he has been connected for seven years. In 1890 Mr. Hud-
son was elected one of the seven delegates at large from the state of Missis-
sippi to the constitutional convention of that state, held in said year, and
was a member of the committees on franchise, corporations and declaration
of rights.
The marriage of Mr. Hudson was celebrated in 1878, when Miss Nannie
Hill became his wife. She is the daughter of A. P. Hill, of Canton, Missis-
sippi, and a prominent lawyer of that state. Three children have been born
to this union, Nancy Elvira, Albert P. N. and Robert S. Mr. and Mrs.
Hudson are members of the Methodist church, in which be is serving as a
treasurer and as a member of the official board.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 217
AMBROSE J. RUSSELL.
Ambrose James Russell, one of the leading architects of Tacoma, is a
native of the East Indies, where his birth occurred on the 15th of October,
1857, and he is of Scotch ancestry. He is a son of the Rev. James and
Rhoda L. (Foss) Russell, the latter of whom was a descendant of a New
South Wales family, while the former was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and
was connected with the London Missionary Society, being a member of the
Congregational church, or what was called in Scotland a Covenanter. For
the long period of twenty-two years he was engaged. in missionary work in
the southern part of the East Indies, but later in life returned to Scotland
and located on an estate left him by his father, where he spent the remainder
of his days, attaining the good old age of eighty-six years. His wife passed
away in death while residing in the East Indies. Their union was blessed
with two children, a son and a daughter, and the latter is now Mrs. Rhoda
J. Murray and resides in Wales.
Ambrose J. Russell, the only son of this family, received his early edu-
cation in the high school of Glasgow, which was later supplemented by a
course in the University of Glasgow, and his architectural training was re-
ceived in the Academy of Fine Arts, at Paris, France. Leaving that institu-
tion in January, 1884, he came to the United States, and in the following
March became a resident of Boston, Massachusetts, spending one year in the
office of the famous architect, H. H. Richardson, the designer of Trinity
church, a part of the state capital at Albany, New York, and the Allegheny
county buildings at Pittsburg. Subsequently Mr. Russell pursued his pro-
fession in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a gentleman whom he had known
in Paris, but after one year there decided to come to the west, and accord-
ingly took up his abode in Kansas City, Missouri, following his profession
in that city and St. Louis. In 1892 he came to Tacoma, Washington, and
has since been actively engaged in architectural work in this city, spending
the first year as draughtsman for the Cottage Home Building Company,
after which he formed a partnership with Albert Sutton, and after severing
that connection carried on operations alone until the 15th of April, 1901.
At that date he entered into business relations with F. H. Heath, and they
are now engaged in general architectural work. Mr. Russell has the honor
of having been elected the first president of the Ferry Museum, serving in
that capacity for three years, and is now its vice president.
Mr. Russell was united in marriage to Miss Loella Sargent, a native of
Iowa and of Scotch ancestry. They have two children, Janet Nichol and
Margaret McDonald. The family reside in one of the attractive homes of
Tacoma, located on the corner of North Fourth and M streets. They are
members of the Episcopal church, and in his fraternal relations he is a
member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is independent
in his political views, preferring to vote for the men whom he regards as
best qualified to fill positions of honor and trust, and in the business circles
of Tacoma he occupies a prominent place.
218 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
ANTON HUTH.
One of the largest and most important institutions of the flourishing
city of Tacoma is the Pacific Malting and Brewing Company, which pays
out thousands of dollars annually to its employes and has taken rank among
the large concerns which have been built up on that wonderful land-locked
sea known as Puget Sound. But so closely is this enterprise identified with
its president and principal owner, Anton Hutb, that the history of both must
be detailed together. Anton Huth was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, near Frank-
fort on the Main, Germany, in 1854, and was the son of Phillip and Gertrude
(Rudolph) Huth, the former of whom was a farmer and was killed in the
early part of the Franco-Prussian war. Anton learned the trade of brewer
and maltster, obtaining both a technical and practical knowledge of the busi-
ness in the home of the beer-making industry.
In the fall of 1S71, shortly after the death of the father of the family,
he came with bis mother and the rest of the household to America, where
they thought they could better their condition. They located in Louisville,
Kentucky, and although Anton was only eighteen years old he secured a good
position in a brewery there. He lived there fourteen years and then he and
his mother removed to Portland, Oregon, where he became a foreman in one
of the leading breweries. But he held this place about two years and then
went to Vancouver, Washington, and became a partner in the Star Brewery
at that place. While he was living there his mother died. In 1888 he came
to Tacoma, and in partnership with Mr. Scholl established a brewery, which
was the beginning of the present large establishment. They had been in busi-
ness but a short time when Mr. Huth and Mr. Virges bought out his partner,
and then incorporated the business as the Pacific Brewing and Malting Com-
pany, of which Mr. Huth is the principal stockholder and president, and
William Virges is treasurer and secretary.
This is in brief the history of the establishment of this great brewery,
but, as Mr. Huth says, it is the work of a lifetime to build up a brewery to
what it should be, and, although a half a million dollars has been expended
on the plant since its modest beginning in 1888, the work is practically only
begun. The plant has a favorable situation from the standpoint of shipping
facilities, at Jefferson avenue and Twenty-fifth street, and here an imposing
group of brick buildings is being gradually collected, some of them several
stories high and as nearly fireproof as they can be made ; two or three are
just completed, while others are in course of erection. A visitor will find that
the manufacture of beer has been brought to a high state of perfection here,
and all the latest machinery and devices are being utilized. The company
makes its own malt from rich barley, and the most scientific methods are used
for germinating and drying the grain. The best hops are used, and that other
important element in beer-making, pure water, is obtained from a well which
has been sunk to the depth of two hundred feet, the supply being the purest
possible; compressed air is used for forcing this water to all parts of the
plant. Cleanliness is a watchword in this brewery ; everything is sterilized
and made as nearly germ-proof as possible. No effort is spared in making
perfect the entire process, from the mashing and boiling on the top floor
-^<^_ ./^
W^~If*
PUBLIC
U*R*RY'
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 219
of the brew house, through the stages of cooling, fermenting, cleansing, rack-
ing and storing. In the storage cellars is row after row of enormous storage
tanks, the storage capacity being over twenty thousand barrels, and each brew
is " aged " from five to six months before being barreled or bottled. All the
vessels are of the very best material, and a great deal of money has been spent
on the machinery for the boiler house. There are also two ice-making ma-
chines, one of a capacity of fifty and the other of sixty-five tons. The man-
agement of this concern is a source of pride to the owner, for it has never
shut down because of hard times, and during the panic it kept on running
and paying full wages to its employes when many other industries in the
city were paralyzed.
One of the trustees of the Pacific Malting and Brewing Company is
Mrs. Anton Huth, whose maiden name was Miss Agnes Miller, and who was
married to Mr. Huth in Tacoma in 1S91. They have four children, An-
toinette, Marie, Carlton and Gertrude. Mr. Huth is a prominent citizen of
Tacoma, is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, of the Elks and other
societies, and besides the brewery is interested in the Puget Sound Malting
Company, and is the owner of the Germania Hall, a very popular place for
social gatherings.
HON. MERTON H. COREY.
The Hon. Merton H. Corey, who is one of the prominent business men
of Tacoma and a leader in political circles, having twice represented his
district in the state legislature, was born near Forestville, Chautauqua
county. New York, in 1869, a son of Henry I. and Elizabeth (Dunning)
Corey, who now reside at Forestville. The father was born in Brooklyn,
New York, and is of English descent, while the mother, a native of Roch-
ester, New York, comes of Scotch ancestry. When a young man Henry I.
Corey removed to Chautauqua county and entered upon what proved a very
successful business career, so that he became a wealthy and prominent citizen.
He owned several fine farms and was also a prominent stockman and lum-
berman, controlling important interests. He was enterprising and progres-
sive, and was in every way a potent force in increasing the wealth and pros-
perity of his county. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted at
Jamestown as a private in the One Hundred and Twelfth New York Volun-
teer Regiment and served throughout the period of hostilities, mostly in Vir-
ginia. He participated in the battles of Petersburg, Cold Harbor and many
others, being continuously in active service of an arduous nature, yet never
faltering in the faithful and loyal performance of his duty as a defender of
the old flag.
When Merton H. Corey was seven years of age the family removed to
Forestville, where he obtained his education, being graduated in the Forest-
ville Academy in 1888. During his youth he had also received thorough
business training through connection with his father's extensive business
affairs, which he helped to manage, thus acquiring comprehensive knowledge
of correct business methods. He might have continued a factor in the con-
trol of his father's enterprises, but the west attracted him and he longed to
220 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
become connected with the more enterprising and stirring business life of
this section of the country, and in the year of his graduation, 1888, he made
his way to the Pacific coast, locating in Tacoma. Here he accepted a position
with the Oakland Loan & Trust Company. It was not a very important one,
but it was a business opening, although his service was clerical work, for
which he received but fifty dollars per month. His close application, ability
and enterprise, however, soon won recognition and gained his promotion,
and in the fall of 1889, upon the organization of the National Bank of the
Republic, he was appointed assistant cashier, in which capacity he served
until the bank was dissolved in 1893. While with that institution he also
had the agency for a number of fire insurance companies, and upon his re-
tirement from the bank he combined his insurance business with a general
real estate, loan and insurance business, to which he has since continuously
devoted his attention with good results. He has always been very prominent
and successful in this field of endeavor, and now represents very important
and extensive interests. In this enterprise he is associated with a partner,
William M. Kennedy, under the firm name of Corey & Kennedy, with offices
at Nos. 412-413 Fidelity building, Tacoma. Mr. Corey is also interested
in various other business enterprises and projects, and, as he has a talent for
planning and executing the right thing at the right time, he is a valued ad-
dition to the business circles of Tacoma.
The sterling qualities of Mr. Corey and his fitness for leadership in
public affairs affecting the welfare of the commonwealth made him the choice
of the people as their representative from the thirty-sixth district in the
general assembly. He was elected upon the Republican ticket of Pierce
county, and served so capably during his term of office that he was re-
elected in 1900. During both sessions he was a member of several com-
mittees, but did his must important work as a member of the committee on
insurance. During his second term he was the chairman of the insurance
committee, and devoted most of his time and attention to the duties of that
position, which he discharged most satisfactorily to his constituents and the
state at large.
In 1889, in Tacoma, Mr. Corey married Miss Anna P. Wheelock, also
a native of Chautauqua county, New York, and they are now the parents
of four children, Lester M., Ruth A., Hazel and Esther P. Their home is
at 304 South Twenty-ninth street. Such in brief is the life history of Mr.
Corey. In whatever relation of life we find him — in the government service,
in political circles, on business or in social relations — he is always the same
honorable and honored gentleman, whose worth well merits the high regard
which is uniformly given him.
THOMAS CHALMERS FLEMMING.
Thomas Chalmers Flemming is a gentleman of considerable influence
in Everett and Snohomish county, and is one who exercises his power for
the general welfare. He is thus classed among the representative men of
the northwest, and because of his genuine worth and fidelity to principle
he well deserves mention among the leading citizens of this locality. Mr.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 221
Flemming is of Irish birth, having been born in the city of Dublin, Ireland, on
the 30th of January, 1856. He is a son of William Flemming, a native of
Scotland, and was a contractor and millwright. He followed that pursuit
in the Emerald Isle to some extent, and there died in 1856 at the age of
forty-eight years. His wife bore the maiden name of Euphemia Chalmers,
and was born in Fifeshire, Scotland. Following her husband's death she
determined to come to the United States, and crossing the Atlantic took up
her abode in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where she spent her remaining days,
her death occurring in 1902, when she had reached the age of seventy-two
years. She was the mother of six sons and a daughter: John; William;
James; Charles; Robert, who is now deceased; and Marguerite.
Thomas Chalmers, the youngest member of the family, was only six
months old at the time of his mother's emigration to the new world. His
boyhood days were spent in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and at the usual age he
entered the public schools, continuing his studies until he had pursued his
high school course. At the age of sixteen he left school and began learning
the trade of paper manufacturing. After two years spent in that way he
came to the Pacific coast, making his way to San Francisco by way of the
Isthmus route. He arrived at his destination in March, 1875, and was
there connected with the business of manufacturing paper until 1876. That
year witnessed his removal to Portland, Oregon, and he established the first
paper mill on the northern Pacific coast. The new enterprise prospered,
and he continued in business in Portland until 1880, when he removed to
LaCamas, Washington, where he established a paper mill for H. L. Pettitt,
continuing its operation until 1882. In that year Mr. Flemming went to
Taylorville, California, as superintendent of a paper mill, which he continued
to operate until 1892, when he removed to Lowell, Washington. There he
was employed as a paper-maker for the Everett Paper & Pulp Company
until 1S95, when he went to Albernia. British Columbia. He was also a
pioneer in the paper manufacturing business in that country, establishing the '
first plant for making paper in British Columbia. He continued there until
the mill was closed down, after which he returned to Everett and again
entered the employ of the Everett Paper & Pulp Company, where he was
until 1899. The following year he entered upon the duties of the office of
county commissioner, for a term of four years, so that he is the present
incumbent. He is now chairman of the board, and has done much to im-
prove the condition of public and county roads. He is a most progressive
citizen, interested in the welfare of his adopted county, and his efforts have
been beneficial and far-reaching. Matters concerning the political condition
of the country are of interest to him as they should be to everv true Ameri-
can citizen. He has studied closely the questions of the day, and gives to
the Republican party his earnest support.
On the 4th of December. 1880. Mr. Flemming was united in marriage
at Eagle Creek, Oregon, to Miss Sarah Brackett, a native of Oregon and
a daughter of H. H. Brackett. one of the honored pioneer settlers of that
state. Mr. and Mrs. Flemming now have three children: Marguerite, who
was born in Oregon City; Lottie, whose birth occurred in LaCamas, Wash-
ington; and Agnes, who was born in Taylorville, California. He is a
222 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
worthy representative of that class of citizens who lead quiet, industrious,
honest and useful lives and constitute the best portion of the community.
CAPTAIN MARTIN ROBINSON.
Captain Robinson is a man of the world; his span of life covers more
than the period allotted by the psalmist, and in this time he has seen nearly
every section of the United States ; has earned an excellent record as a sol-
dier, and has been successful in the material affairs of life. He is one whom
men delight to honor, and he is accounted one of the respected citizens of
Centralia, where he has resided since 1889. The Scotch forebears of this
gentleman were early settlers of America, and grandfather Colonel Ezekiel
Robinson was one of the first settlers to come to the vicinity of Northfield,
Vermont. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island. July 15, 1764. He
married Dinah Doubleday, of Palmer, Massachusetts, who was born April
28, 1764, and they soon thereafter took up their abode in the wilderness of
Northfield. Many are the tales of this pioneer life which grandmother Rob-
inson used to relate to her grandchildren, how she rode on horseback one
hundred and fifty miles to visit her old home, with her child in her arms,
with food in saddle-bags, much of the way lying through the grim and lonely
forest, returning without harm to herself, her child or her beast ; how two
pet bear cubs of a neighboring settler climbed to the roof of her home, scram-
bled down the rough stick chimney and crawled into bed where the sleeping
children lay. Such were some of the events that gave color to pioneer life
in those days and are a source of unending interest to those who live in more
modern times. Ezekiel was a colonel of the militia and fought at the battle
of Plattsburg in the war of 1812. He and his wife were members of the
Free-will Baptist church, and he died in 1834.
His son, David Robinson, was born in Northfield February 7, 1799,
followed farming and manufacturing and spent his life in his native state.
He was a Baptist and was a member of the Whig party. He served some
time in the state legislature and was a member of the convention that nomi-
nated William Henry Harrison for the presidency. His wife was Sarah
Denny, a member of an old and highly respected Vermont family. They
had ten children, but two of them are living, the Captain being the only sur-
vivor of eight sons: Mrs. Fllen Junes, of Appleton, Wisconsin, is the other
surviving member. Mr. Robinson died in 1S41, aged forty-two, his wife
surviving him and passed away in November, 1841). in her forty-ninth year.
Martin Robinson was born in Washington county, Vermont, Septem-
ber 18, 1831, was reared on his father's farm and was educated in the dis-
trict schools and academies of his native state. He began earning his liveli-
hood by teaching school, and was only called from these duties by the
breaking out of the Civil war. More than once dining his experience as
teacher when he was a beardless youth, the "big boys" menaced him and
threatened to "put him out." as was not unfrequently the manner of treating
district school teachers in those days; but young Robinson was not to be
handled in that way easily. The light in him was such a manifest quality
and quantity that no combine in school dared lay hands on him; the result
was the big boys always came to be his staunch friends.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 223
At the call of Father Abraham for three hundred thousand more, his
school closed and he enlisted in Company D, Seventh Minnesota Volunteers ;
his first service being against the Indians in Dakota under General II. II.
Sibley, his post being Fort Abercrombie, North Dakota. He was chosen
first sergeant of his company at its organization, and after this campaign
with the Indians he was ordered to St. Louis. Missouri, where he was pro-
moted to be second lieutenant and was transferred to Company D, Sixty-
second United States Colored Infantry. The company soon proceeded to
New Orleans, where it was stationed several months, and was then sent to
Brazos Santiago, Texas. Here Mr. Robinson was made first lieutenant and
was transferred to Company I, was detailed for special service and had com-
mand of a detachment of the First Texas Cavalry, and was also appointed
aide on the staff of General B. B. Brown. Marching from Brazos Santiago
to Brownville, they had the honor of fighting the last battle of the war.
Peace had been declared but the news had not reached them; they were re-
pulsed in the engagement, and Captain Robinson remarks the historical
coincidence that the Union forces were defeated in the first and Inst battles
of the war.
After the war he was on special duty as provost marshal of the parish
of West Feliciana, Louisiana, and he served a term as superintendent of
freedmen. While there he made the acquaintance of several southern gen-
tlemen, and after his term of service expired he entered into an arrangement
with two of them to try the experiment of raising cotton with white labor.
He went north and procured the men and was the first to make the attempt,
but he was only partially successful, and after a year abandoned the project.
Returning north to Rockford, Illinois, and after visiting a sister there, he
decided to enter Oberlin College and study theology, with a view to making
the ministry a profession. He was married about this time, and after study-
ig for two terms gave up his former intention and settled on a farm near
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the hope that he could here regain bis impaired
health. He organized a milk dairy and supplied milk to the city. For five
years through summer and winter, rain and sun. he delivered milk once and.
sometimes, twice a day, Sundays not excepted, and his gilded milk wagon
driven by a pair of fine horses was a regular and familiar sight in the streets
of the city. He met with decided success in this enterprise and, best of all.
measurably recovered his health. He next moved to Farmington, Min-
nesota, where in 1877 he engaged in a general merchandise business and
continued three years. In 1882 he moved into the valley of the Sheyenne,
North Dakota, where he became one of the founders of the town of Mardell.
For three years he kept the hotel there and was the postmaster of the town.
Returning to Minnesota, he conducted a boarding house in St. Paul for three
years and then went to Tower City, North Dakota, where for two years he
was proprietor of the Park hotel. The year 1889 is the date of his coming
to Centralia, and here he furnished and conducted the new and line Park
hotel for five years and made it the mosl popular house between Portland
and the Sound. In 1894 he sold out, and, retiring to his small farm of
twenty-five acres, he now gives hi- time, chiefly, to raising fruit and blooded
stock, where he finds plenty of recreation and qi ifort, which he cer-
tainly richly deserves as a fitting secmel to his long and useful life.
224 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
One day, about the close of the war, there came a pleasant surprise to
him. It was in the form of a brevet captainship, for gallant and meritorious
services during the war. He married Miss Adelia M. Moore, of Adrian,
Michigan, a most worthy and popular young woman, the daughter of Alonzo
Moore. Two daughters and a son were born to them. Their only living
child, Anne Cumings Robinson, resides with them, and their home life is
delightful. The Captain insists that bis successes in life are largely due to
the arts and industries and loyalty of bis wife, who is a woman beloved by
all who know her, and whose home is a model of neatness and convenience,
where kindred and friends find royal entertainment. Though notably non-
sectarian, the family are all Congregationalists. The Captain is a staunch
Republican and is commander of T. P. Price Post No. 82, G. A. R.
While now in his seventy-second yoar he retains in a remarkable degree
bis youthful and vivacious character, and is one of those sunny veterans of
the Civil war whose ranks have been decimated by the hurrying steps of
time, and who still remind men of the greatest struggle for human liberty
the world has ever known.
HON. GEORGE B. KANDLE.
As one views the mighty machine of steel drawing the moving palaces
which are the finest product of the railroad builder's art and speeding swiftly
across the vast prairies of the west, it is almost impossible to conceive a pic-
ture of its predecessor of the middle of the past century, the " prairie schooner."
When the impatient traveler of to-day chafes at what he thinks the slow prog-
ress of his limited express he might derive considerable comfort from the
calling to mind of that awkward covered wagon, as it is drawn by the patient
oxen or horses across the plains that were often the haunts of the wild beast
or the more cruel Indian. But all honor is due that pioneer vehicle, for it
carried the men who blazed the way for the march of the grand twentieth
century's civilization, ami men who have made the wild west one of the most
productive countries of the world. Hon. George B. Kandle has especial
reason to be proud of this early means of transportation, for although he
was not born in one of these " schooners," he was still in bis swaddling clothes
as he came across the prairies to his new home in the west.
His father was Henry Kandle. and bis mother's maiden name was Mar-
garet Hill. The former was born in Salem, New Jersey, and moved to
Indiana at a very early day, being, in fact, one of the pioneers of that state.
He made that bis home until the fall of 1S50, when he arranged with a num-
ber of others to make the long trip across the plains, the west at that time
being the Mecca for many enterprising and adventurous men. The band
fust made for a point 011 the Missouri river near St. Joseph, and remained
there during the winter. In the following sprint; the party started on that
long pilgrimage, over the rough land of eastern Kansas until the gradual
and level ascent to the Rockies was reached, then on through all the varie-
gated scenery till what was then the village of Portland, Oregon, came in
view, where they passed the winter of 1851-52; and early the next year they
made their final stage of the journey to Washington. Mr. Kandle lived on
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THE NEW YORK
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HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 225
farms in Thurston and Pierce counties except for the last few years of his life,
which he passed in Tacoma. He died October 12, 1892. His wife was born
in county Down, Ireland, and died here two years before her husband.
It was while the company of emigrants were spending the winter of
185 1 near St. Joseph, Missouri, that the son George B. was born, and he
was in his mother's arms throughout most of the trip to this state. He was
reared on his father's farm, but at the age of nineteen he left home and se-
cured employment in a drug store at Steilacoom and later in a general mer-
chandise store, remaining a little over a year. At that time the firm which
employed him established a store at old Tacoma and placed young Kandle
in charge. In November, 1872, Mr. Kandle was nominated and elected coun-
ty auditor, which office he filled for eight years, being elected four successive
times ; his last term expired soon after the county seat was moved from
Steilacoom to Tacoma. His next venture was real estate and insurance in
Tacoma, and he also became a member of the city council. In 1889 he was
elected a member of the first legislature of the new state of Washington,
and served a two-year term, at the same time carrying on his real estate busi-
ness. And during this time, in 1890, he was elected mayor of Tacoma at the
time the new city charter was adopted, and he held that office until April, 1892.
He continued dealing in real estate until -r.808, when he was elected a member
of the board of county commissioners of -Pierce county for a term of two
years, and at the expiration of this term was re-elected for a four-year term,
of which he still has two; years to serve. ,
Mr. Kandle has been identified .in •various ways with the public inter-
ests of the state. For the three years from 1877 to 1879 he was one of the
trustees of the insane asylum of the territory, and is now. by appointment of
Governor McBride. one of the Washington commissioners for the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition to be held in St. Louis in 1904. He still owns the old
homestead, a fine farm of seven hundred acres, which is situated in township
18, Pierce county, twenty miles south of Tacoma. Mr. Kandle was married
in Pierce county in 1875 to Miss Mary C. Guess, who was born in Pierce coun-
ty, her parents' having crossed the plains in 1853. Mr. Kandle now resides
with his wife and two daughters, Leona Maud and Lottie Iola, in their home,
corner North Fifth and I streets, Tacoma.
JOSHUA MARTIN WIESTLING.
Joshua Martin Wiestling has been a resident of Seattle, Washington,
fourteen years, and during that time has done much to foster the growth
and promote the best interests of the city. Mr. Wiestling is a native of the
Keystone state. He was born at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. October 5, 1837.
His grandfather Wiestling came to this country from Saxony early in the
nineteenth century and located in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, where his
son, Joshua Martin, the father of our subject, was born, and where he was for
many years engaged in the practice of medicine. The early history of the
Wiestlings shows" them to have been a family of physicians. Dr. Joshua
Martin Wiestling died in 1854. His wife, Catherine (Youce) Wiestling,
also was a native of Dauphin county, and she, too, died in 1854. She was
22(1 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
of German origin and belonged to a family that settled in this country at a
very early period, some of her ancestors having served in the Revolutionary
war. Dr. J. M. and Catherine Wiestling were the parents of eight children,
three of whom, a son and two daughters, are yet living, the latter being resi-
dents of Pennsylvania, Mary Ellen, widow of Colonel T. T. Worth, and
Julia A., wife of C. Penrose Sherk.
Joshua Martin Wiestling was educated in the public schools, the Har-
risburg Academy, the Cumberland Valley Institute and Franklin and Mar-
shall College of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, receiving the degree of A. B. from
the last named institution in 1857 and subsequently the degree of A. M. He
studied law at Harrisburg under the instruction of Hon. A. J. Herr, a prom-
inent lawyer and legislator of that state, and was admitted to the Dauphin
county bar in 1859, and soon afterward to the supreme court of the state.
Shortly after he entered upon the practice of law he was made register in
bankruptcy for the Fourteenth congressional district, appointed by Chief
Justice Chase, and after serving one year resigned to accept the office of
district attorney, to which he was elected by the Republican party; was re-
elected for another term, and served in all six years. He continued to prac-
tice law in Harrisburg until 1889, when he came to Washington. Previous
to his coming west Mr. Wiesling was unanimously placed in nomination for
Congress by his own county, Dauphin, but withdrew in favor of a candidate
in another county of the district.
It was on May 2, 1889, that Mr. Wiestling landed in Seattle, and from
that date to the present he has been engaged in the practice of law here,
having gained and maintained a prominent position among the leading mem-
bers of the legal profession in Seattle. He is a member of the Chamber of
Commerce. He brought with him to the west his interest and activity in
politics, and has frequently been a delegate to county and state conventions.
However, while he has always been a prominent factor in matters political
and is looked upon as a leader, he is not an office-seeker.
Mr. Wiestling has an honorable war record. In the summer of 1862
he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Pennsylvania
Volunteers, and went into the service as a second lieutenant, afterward being
promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. He was with the Army of the Po-
tomac in Virginia, under command of General McClellan ; and was in an
emergency service at the time the battle of Gettysburg was fought. On
account of sickness contracted during his period of service, he was unfit for
further duty, and in 1863 was honorably discharged. He is an active mem-
ber of the Grand Army of the Republic and is past commander of Stephens
Post No. 1 at Seattle, and is also a member of the Loyal Legion, department
of Washington.
In early life Mr. Wiestling was initiated into the mysteries of Masonry
and took an active part in the work of that order. He is a past master of
the lodge to which lie belonged in Pennsylvania. He and bis family are
members of St. Mark's Episcopal church, Seattle.
Mr. Wiestling was married June 2, 1864, to Miss Georgiana B. Hoover,
at Gettysburg. Pennsylvania, ami fur nearly four decades she shared the joys
ami sorrows of life with him. She passed away June 15, 1902. .Mrs.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 227
Wiestling was a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of John and Sophia
Hoover. The Hoovers were an old and highly respected family, of German
and English origin, and they were represented in the Revolutionary war.
Mr. Wiestling has a son and two daughters, namely, Frank Beecher and
Georgiana and Virginia, all residents of Seattle.
Frank Beecher Wiestling was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, April
5, 1865. His education was received in an academy in his native city;
Shortlidge's Academy, Media, Pennsylvania; and Harvard University, where
he graduated in June, 1887, witn l'ie degree of A. B. He accompanied his
father to Seattle in 1889, studied law under his tutorship, and has been en-
gaged in practice with him since the fall of the year of their arrival here.
Like his father, he is prominent and active in politics and has served as dele-
gate to the city, county and state conventions of the Republican party. He
was married in Tacoma. April 19, 1893, to Annie Edmunds, a native of
England and an adopted daughter of Mr. Van Ogle, of Tacoma, Washing-
ton. They have two children, Dorothy and Annette. Mr. Wiestling is a
member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen; past chancellor com-
mander of the Knights of Pythias; and is a member of the Harvard Hasty
Pudding Club and Alpha chapter, Delta Kappa Epsilon. He worships at
Trinity Episcopal church.
THE OLYMPIA DAILY RECORDER.
The Olympia Daily Recorder, as a representative of the interests of
Olympia and the surrounding country, made its initial appearance to the public
in December, 189 1, and has since journeyed steadily along the journalistic
path, and, as every well conducted newspaper may act in a community, exerts
a great power for good and development along proper lines in this prosperous
section of the west. Its daily edition was begun in May, 189-'. and it appears
in the evening a seven-column folio, devoted to Republican politics and local
news and press dispatches. Its subscription price is fifteen cents per week,
or fiftv cents per month delivered by the carrier. It is issued by the Recorder
Publishing Company, which is owned by S. A. Perkins, publisher of the
Tacoma Daily Ledger, the Tacoma Daily News, Everett Daily Herald, Aber-
deen Daily Bulletin and Fairhaven Daily Herald, all Associated Press dailies.
John P. Fink is the business manager, and at the head of the editorial stall
is F. G. Deckebach, men under whose direction the Recorder has gained
the reputation of being one of the leading papers of the state of Washington.
THE WASHINGTON STANDARD.
The career of many ambitious journals is marked by a rising and falling
line of prosperity, and their course is anything hut a smooth 0 lally
there are numerous editors and business managers, and sometimes, notwith-
standing all their heroic efforts, the publication is swallowed in the vortex
of journalistic adversities. There is a marked contrast to tin. -tat.- oi affan
in the history of the paper which is now to he described, and. mMead, an
almost phenomena] record of over forty years' uninterrupted success, he-
228 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
ginning with the pioneer days of Washington, giving to and receiving en-
couragement from the wonderful development of the extreme northwest, is
the due of the Washington Standard of Olympia. On the 17th of November,
i860, the inhabitants of Olympia and the vicinity received the news of Abra-
ham Lincoln's election to the presidency of the nation through the columns
of the maiden sheet with the ambitious title of "The Washington Standard."
The proprietor and editor of this venturesome paper was a young man by
the name of John Miller Murphy, and mainly to his honor is owing the fact
that the Standard has never missed an issue since that "red letter" day of it?
advent into the world. At first it was a six-column, four-page folio, but
in the forty-two years of its existence it has grown to be an eight-column
folio, and during all this time it has been under the control of Mr. Murphy
with the exception of the year 1870, when Beriah Brown was admitted as
associate editor. It has been the organ of the Democratic party, but during
the Civil war it very properly supported the Union cause and the adminis-
tration ; Mr. Murphy had joined the Union League and took the commendable
course that in the great civil danger that threatened national union there should
be no parties or factional spirit, thus being of great service to the government
in his section. Mr. Murphy has in later years admitted his sons, Henry M.
and Frank, to partnership in the enterprise, and the paper is now conducted
under their control. As the life of its founder and editor is largely a history
of the paper, and is of special interest because of his identification with the
growth and progress of Olympia, a brief account of Mr. Murphy's career
will be in place at this point.
Mr. Murphy is of Irish descent on his father's side, while his mother
came from Teutonic stock. John Murphy, born in Ireland, came to the
United States when young and settled in Indiana about the year 1S30. He
was a millwright by trade, and many of the mills erected in that state in
that early period were the products of his skill. He was married in Indiana
to Mrs. Susan Miller, and she died in 1846, while it is supposed that he lost
his life in the war of the rebellion. Only two children were born of this
marriage, and the daughter became the wife of George A. Barnes, of Olym-
pia, but she is now deceased.
John Miller Murphy was born near Fort Wayne, Indiana, November 3,
1839, and in 1850, at the age of eleven, he crossed the plains with his married
sister to Oregon. They passed the winter in Portland, and he attended the
first school taught in that city. In the following year they came to Olympia,
at that time a scattered village on the shores of the Sound, and young Murphy
was one of the scholars" in the first school taught there. His brother-in-law,
Mr. Barnes, had a general merchandise store in the town, and the first work
in which John engaged was as a clerk in this establishment. He held this
position until 1856, in which year he went to Portland and learned the trade
of printer in the offices of the Times and the Democratic Standard. When
he was twenty-one years of age, in June, i860, he went to Vancouver, and
with another gentleman started the Vancouver Chronicle, but after a few
months he sold out to his partner and came to Olympia, where he was the
founder of the Standard. In [865 he built at the corner of Second and Wash-
ington streets the structure in which the paper has been located ever since.
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 229
In 1863 he was appointed public printer and served in this capacity during
one session of the territorial legislature.
Mr. Murphy has had a varied and active public career. He was auditor
for Washington territory from 1867 to 1870. In 1873-4 he filled the same
office, and in 1868 was appointed to the same office, which he held till the
admission of the territory to statehood. He was cx-ofHcio quartermaster.
For eight years he was a member of the city council, and was county super-
intendent of schools for one term; he was also one of the organizers of the
fire department and acted as its secretary and president for several terms.
Mr. Murphy is an ardent supporter of the cause of woman suffrage, and for
fourteen years he advocated those principles through the columns of his
paper. A bill was finally passed in the legislature, and the women of Wash-
ington came into their rights, but four years later the law was declared un-
constitutional on account of a technical flaw in the title. He has always
attended the conventions of his party and has been a very efficient worker.
In 1N90 he evidenced his public spirit by the erection of a theatre costing
thirty thousand dollars, which is elegant and modern in its equipment and has
a seating capacity of one thousand. He has also been the city bill poster
for a number of years, and is a member of the Pacific Coast and the National
Billposters' Associations.
In 1862 Mr. Murphy was married in Portland to Miss Eliza J. McGuire,
who was born in Brighton, Iowa, in 1842, and they became the parents of
eight children: Henry M.; Winifred, now Mrs. William Harris; Estella,
the widow of Charles Carroll; Frank and Charles; and Annie, Bertha and
Rosa Pearl, the three latter now deceased. All his children have learned the
printer's business of their father, and the two sons who are in partnership with
him are expert in that line. After thirty-three years of happy married life,
Mrs. Murphy died, on November 3, 1895, deeply mourned by the family to
whom she had been so faithful and so kind. In May, 1896. Mr. Murphy mar-
ried Mrs. Susan C. Sprague, the daughter of Charles Craigbill, of Santa
Cruz, California.
EDWIN A. STROUT.
Edwin A. Strout, of Seattle, is one of the business men who have helped
to build up the chief industries of this section of the country, lie early
had the business foresight to realize Seattle's future growth and importance,
and, acting in accordance with the dictates of his faith and judgment, he
has prospered with the growth of Seattle and the state of Washington. He
is now connected with many extensive and important business interests. At
the present time he is secretary of the Brick Exchange, representing nearly all
of the brick manufacturing interests of this section; secretary and a large
owner in the Seattle Brick & Tile Company; vice president of the Scattlv
Ice Company; and senior member of the firm of E. A. Strout & Company,
fire, marine and liability insurance agents. His business interests are ex-
tensive and such as demand his active attention.
Mr. Strout is a native of New Hampshire, having been born at Conway.
July 26, 1862. His father, Bennett P. Strout, was born in Maine and led
230 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
an active business life until about fifteen years ago, when he retired from
business and went to Philadelphia, where he now lives. During the greater
part of his business career he remained in New Hampshire. He has now
attained the age of eighty-three years and is still active and well. In public
affairs he has been an active worker. He served as county commissioner and
in other local official positions, and for several years was a member of the
New Hampshire house of representatives. While living in Maine he was
united in marriage to Abbie Woodruff, daughter of Erastus Woodruff, of
Lyndon, Vermont. They bad two children, the elder being Charles H., a
resident of Philadelphia and proprietor of St. Luke's School for boys. On
both sides of the family the ancestry can be traced back in this country to the
seventeenth century. The father is a descendant of John Strout, who came
to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1630, from England. On the Woodruff side
the lineage runs back to 1664, when Matthew Woodruff came from England
and was one of the original eighty-four settlers of Farmington, Connecticut.
Edwin A. Strout received a portion of his education in Conway. New
Hampshire, ami he afterward became a student in an academy at Wolfboro,
in the graded schools at Dover and in the business college at Manchester,
New Hampshire. In 1879 he entered upon his active business career, be-
coming connected with the subsistence department of the army. He was
first sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he remained for some months,
acting as clerk for his uncle, Captain C. A. Woodruff, commissary of sub-
sistence, United States army. From there he went to Santa Fe, New Mexico,
where he acted as chief clerk for Captain Woodruff until the fall of 1884.
During this time he saw a great deal of active service in the Apache Indian
troubles of that period. In 1884 he came with Captain Woodruff to Van-
couver Barracks, Washington, where he was stationed until he came to Seattle.
In 1885 he made up his mind to engage in business for himself, and with
this end in view investigated the prospects offered in the various cities of
Oregon and Washington, making a trip in that year to Tacoma and Seattle.
Deciding that Seattle offered the best prospects for a young man, he came
to that city in January, 1887. He then organized the Puget Sound Ice Com-
pany for the manufacture of artificial ice, and erected a plant at West and
Seneca streets, in the spring of 1887. This was the first ice plant ever
operated on Puget Sound. He was connected with this company until the
plant was destroyed in the great conflagration of 1889. He then assisted in
the organization of the Seattle Ice and Refrigerator Company, which erected
a large plant at Yesler. This company was later changed to the Seattle
Ice Company, ami the plant was removed to its present location in this city.
In 1889 Mr. Strout was one of the organizers of the Washington Territory
Investment Company, was elected its first vice president, and later was made
president. This company bought the lot on the northwest corner of Second
avenue and Cherry street, and erected, in 1889-90, the building now known
as the Post-Intelligencer Building. Mr. Strout retained the management
of this building until it was sold in 1902. In 1888 he was associated with
George H. Heilbron in the organization of the Seattle Brick & Tile Com-
pany and has acted as its secretary continuously since that time. These enter-
prises have furnished employment to a large number of men and have con-
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 23]
Iributed greatly to Mr. Strout's success as well as aiding in the upbuilding
of Seattle.
At Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1889, Mr. Strout was united in mar-
riage to Cora Taylor, a (laughter of Colonel Frank Taylor, of the United
States army, and they have two children, Edwin A. and Helen. In 1884 he
erected his residence on Marion street, between Summit and Boylston ave-
nues. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of St. Mark's Episcopal
church, and of Mt. Hood Lodge No. 32, F. & A. M. He has always taken a
prominent part in the social and club life of Seattle, being one of the organ-
izers of the Rainier Club, Country Club, and Golf and Country Club.
thomas w. Mcdonald.
Thomas \Y. McDonald, who is serving as treasurer of Mason county
and is a leading representative of agricultural and stock-raising interests
of this portion of the state, was born in Kamilche, Washington, on the 19th
of June, 1 87 1, and is of Scotch ancestry. His grandfather, Angus Mc-
Donald, was born Ln the highlands of Scotland and when a young man
crossed the Atlantic to the new world, settling in Canada, where he engaged
in lumbering. He spent his remaining days there, and died in the seventy-
sixth year of his age. His son, Thomas W. McDonald, the father of our
subject, was born in Canada, and in the days of the early gold excitement
in California went to that state. He also went to the scene of the Cariboo
mining excitement, after which he settled in Mason county, Washington,
where he wedded Mrs. Mary E. Elder. She had four children by her first
marriage, and to the second marriage there were horn live children.
Mr. McDonald followed farming in this state, and became quite prominent
in public affairs. He served as county commissioner and was a valued mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Masonic Fraternity.
Everywhere known he was regarded as a reliable and worthy citizen, whose
loss was deeply regretted throughout the community in which he made his
home. He died in 1876. at the age of forty-eight years, and was laid to rest
in the Odd Fellows' cemetery in Olympia. His widow still survives him in
the sixty-seventh year of her age, and resides on the farm in Kamilche. The
eldest son, Angus R., is a farmer of Mason county, and another brother,
Ronald R., is a merchant at Kamilche.
In the public schools of his native place Mr. McDonald was educated
and upon the home farm he was reared. He has always followed farming,
having an interest in five hundred and twenty acres in Mason county, on
which he is engaged in general farming and in the raising of shorthorn cattle.
He thoroughly understands both branches of his business, and hi- capable
control of his interests has made his farming operations profitable. Mr. Mc-
Donald has been a life-long Republican, and was elected treasurer of the
county ou the 6th of November, 1900. He is now acceptably tilling that
position of honor and trust, and is always a loyal and progressive citizen.
On the 23rd of December, 1900, Mr. McDonald was united in mar-
riage to Miss Emma L. Taylor, a native daughter of Washington, who was
born in Lilliwaup, Mason county, and a daughter of W. S. and Eliza ( Purdy)
232 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald now have one son, Thomas W., Jr. Our
subject is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has
passed all the chairs in both branches of the order, while in the grand lodge
he has represented the subordinate lodge. He is also connected with the
Woodmen of the World, and is a worthy and reliable business man and
trustworthy official, a credit to the state of his nativity.
JUDGE FREMONT CAMPBELL.
One can hardly judge the real life of an individual from the events which
are patent to the world. In the majority of cases the important decisions,
the knotty problems and perplexing difficulties, which have influenced the
whole life and have often, though many times unknown to the actor him-
self, been the turning point of his career, all these things, though so necessary
to the thorough understanding of the history of the man, are often unre-
vealed and remain forever hidden in the depths of semi-consciousness. But
though the biographer is thus handicapped at arriving at the original sources,
he is still able to infer from the most palpable events the results of the inner
life, and judge in the limited and mortal way man's value to society and the
world. So, in the case of the subject at hand, it is our intention to set forth
briefly the life and its fruits and allow the reader to determine the meed of
honor which is fit to be bestowed.
Judge Alexander Campbell was born eighty-three years ago on Prince
Edward Island. He came to the United States in 1853. As one would sur-
mise from the name, the family is of Scotch stock. He was a resident of
Madison, Wisconsin, for a number of years, and while there was chosen a
member of the legislature. He afterwards moved to Iowa and was one of
the prominent lawyers of the state, and also district judge for the long period
of eighteen years. About ten years ago he retired from public life and is
now living quietly in Tacoma, being at the advanced age of ' eighty-three
His wife was also born on Prince Edward Island, and her maiden name
was Jennie McKenzie. She died in Tacoma in 1901.
These worthy people were the parents of Fremont Campbell, who was
born October 10, 1857, while his father resided in Madison, Wisconsin.
Two of his older brothers, James and Robert, were soldiers in the Civil war,
but Fremont was hardly old enough to understand the wild clamor of war at
the time. He had the advantages of an excellent education at the Wisconsin
University at Madison and graduated in 1873. He pursued a law course in
the same institution for the next two years, and then entered the office of
Major John Taft, where he delved into the realms of legal lore for two more
years. The aspiring young lawyer sought his first field of endeavor in the
west, going to Belmont, Nevada, and was admitted to the bar by the supreme
court at Carson City in 1878. He made his arrival in the city of Tacoma
on July 4, 1880, and at once began his practice here. Three years later he
was elected prosecuting attorney of Pierce county and served two terms
of two years each, and after engaging in private practice for two years he was
re-elected in 1889. He filled the office only one year, and was then appointed
by Governor iferry judge of the superior court of Pierce county to fill out an
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 233
unexpired term. In 1892 he was regularly elected to this office, but in 1894
resumed his private practice and continued it very successfully for five years,
at the end of which time he was again called to take up the duties of public
office and fill out the term of George W. Walker, prosecuting attorney. In
1900 he was elected to this position for two years and in the fall of 1902
was candidate for re-election and was re-elected. He has always been before
the people as a candidate of the Republican party, in whose principles he is
a firm believer.
Judge Campbell has also served his adopted city in the capacity of school
director for nine years, and was city assessor in 1888. He was one of the
incorporators of the Tacoma and Lake City Railroad Company, which built
a railroad from Tacoma to American Lake in 1889, and he was the general
manager of the road until it was sold to the Union Pacific. Such a record
of public activity is striking proof of Mr. Campbell's personal popularity and
eminent fitness as a leader of men. and much more may be expected from this
brilliant man who has hardly reached the zenith of life's powers. Judge
Campbell was married at Tacoma in 1884, Miss Grace L. Reynolds becoming
his wife. Thev have seven children, Clarence A., Fremont C, Mercedes I.,
Veva C, Ray Maurice, Walter M. and Dewey M., a daughter.
ALBERT J. MUNSON.
In dealing with the biographies of those men of action who now and
for some years past have been engaged in making Washington, the sketch
writer is seldom called on to chronicle the birth of any of his subjects in the
state. Nine out of ten, perhaps it would be better to say ninety-nine out of
a hundred, are from other parts of the Union, and most of them have not
been here more than fifteen or twenty years. But there are exceptions to this
as to all other rules, and we are now to learn something of a gentleman who,
as also his wife, is a native-born Washingtonian. This statement necessarily
involves another to the effect that the parents of Mr. and Mrs. Munson
were pioneers to the Puget Sound region at a period so remote as to make
them exceptionally early settlers, and it is probable that few others now resident
in the state antedate their arrival. They left Boston, Massachusetts, Sep-
tember 15, 1858, arrived at Port Townsend, Washington, Marches, 185*).
Connected with the story of these parties is a pretty romance, which would
seem to indicate that "the course of true love" does occasionally run smooth.
It also proves that there is no situation in this world so conducive to love-
making as confinement in a sailing vessel for one of those long voyages of
many months' duration, so common before the age of steam navigation. It
was a situation similar to this which caused the celebrated Warren Hastings
to fall in love — but unfortunately with another man's wife — on one of those
tedious voyages to India, of which he was then governor general. There
might be many other citations to the same effect, but this narrative is con-
fined to a young couple whose career had a direct bearing upon that of the
subject of our sketch, inasmuch as they became bis father and mother.
One day in the year 1858, a sailing vessel was getting ready to depart
from the coast of Maine to the distant land "where rolls the Oregon." Such
234 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
a journey at that time was sufficient to appall the stoutest heart, and espe-
cially full of terrors for any one inclined to seasickness. It was not only long
in days, weeks and months, but accommodations were always bad on those
sailing vessels, with their narrow quarters, insufficient food, poor water, but
above all the wearisome monotony and wearing tedium which arise from
having nothing to do or doing the same thing over and over again. They
were to go from the extreme northeastern to the extreme northwestern end
of the Union, which in a direct line is far from a short distance, but to reach
which by water requires a sail down the entire Atlantic of both American
continents and, after doubling the stormy Horn, a repetition of the experience
along the Pacific shore until the turn to the right is made through the Straits
of Fuca. The sailing vessel in question was named the Toando, commanded
by Captain G. D. Keller, and his second mate was Josiah Hill Munson, a
young man of East Machias, Maine, who at that time was just twenty-nine
years of age. But by far the most interesting occupant of the Toando was
Miss Emily Keller, daughter of Captain G. D. Keller, who was making this
■rip with her father. Her father, step-mother and all her brothers and sisters
were on board, also sister of J. H. Munson, the wife of Captain A. W. Keller,
the first mate. The voyage had not continued long until the second mate
and Miss Emily were on very good terms with each other, and it was not
strange that the daily intercourse for months ripened into something stronger
than friendship. Long before the good ship Toando had touched the placid
waters of the Sound a couple of her occupants were much in love with each
other, and were married in Port Townsend, April 5, 1859. They settled
down to lives of usefulness in the then sparsely settled territory of Wash-
ington. Captain Munson, as he was afterward called, rose to positions of
prominence and influence both in political and business circles, and was long
regarded as one of the leading men in this section. He was selected territorial
treasurer by the Republican party, of which he was an influential member,
was later appointed state librarian and for twelve years was postmaster at
Olympia, and county treasurer of Thurston county for ten years. Mean-
time he engaged with success in mercantile pursuits, was influential in Masonic
circles, and altogether was one of the most notable and esteemed of the state's
early pioneer citizens. Captain A. W. Keller, first mate of the Toando, and
son of the captain, G. D. Keller, revered and esteemed by all, now enjoys
the reputation of being one of the oldest, if not at the very head of the list,
of the state's veteran sea captains. J. H. Munson died in Seattle, Wash-
ington, April 11, 1903, and the following are some extracts from the local
paper concerning that event :
When Captain Josiah H. Munson died at the Seattle General Hospital,
Saturday night, another of those hardy seafaring men from the coast of
Maine, who have done much for upbuilding of the Northwest territory, passed
away. Captain Munson landed at Port Townsend in 1859, anc^ ever since
that time he lived in the territory and state of Washington.
Captain Munson was a good friend to Henry L. Yesler, and the latter
offered the young man a block in the then sawmill town of Seattle, if he
would move here, but Steilacoom seemed to have brighter prospects, and Mr.
Munson stayed there. He could have taken up a homestead where this city
HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY. 235
now stands, along with A. A. Denny, Maynard, Bell and others, but he pre-
ferred to go to Olympia.
In the early territorial days Captain Munson was quite a prominent char-
acter in politics. He was treasurer and librarian of the territory; was post-
master of Olympia for twelve years, and was treasurer of Thurston county
for twelve years. During the Indian troubles Mr. Munson was postmaster,
and did not take part in the war, except to help guard Olympia from attack.
He did not take the field against the redskins.
In 1889, the year Washington was admitted as a state, Captain Munson
moved to Seattle, and made this city his borne from that time until bis death.
After his removal from the capital Captain Munson did not take an active
part in politics, and he and his wife made their home with their two sons out
on the shores of Lake Washington.
Captain Munson was a member of Harmony Lodge No. 1, of Masons,
at Olympia, but owing to the short notice of the funeral arrangements it is
not likely that the Masons will officiate.
Captain Munson and wife reared a family of seven children in Wash-
ington. The eldest is Mrs. U. R. Grant, now living in Alameda. Her first
husband was Lincoln P. Ferry, son of Governor Ferry. Mrs. J. D. Van
Buren, another daughter, is also living in Alameda. A. J. Munson is post-
master at Shelton, and L. K. and Fred are also residents of Sbelton. Charles
H. is captain, and J. K. Munson is engineer of the steamer Emily Keller, the
boat being named for their mother.
Albert J. Munson, one of the seven children of his parents, was burn
at Seilacoom. in Pierce county, Washington, November 12. 1862, and was
educated in the public schools of Olympia. After finishing his studies be
engaged in merchandising at the state capital, and so continued until 1889,
when he came to Shelton and opened a hardware store. Aside from business
he became active in politics, and has enjoyed a career of some prominence
in that line as one of the local Republican leaders. He has served as city
treasurer, as a member of the city council six years, and for six years was
school director. Eventually be was appointed postmaster of Shelton, in
which position be was serving at the time of the preparation of this memoir,
and as a side line keeps for sale a stock of notions and sundries in the build-
ing occupied as an office.
On the 21st of October, 1888, Mr. Munson was united in marriage with
Miss Esther D. Bannse, like himself a native of Washington and daughter
of pioneer parents. Her father, Herman Bannse, crossed the plains as early
as 18=53 and settled in Thurston county, which was the birthplace of Mrs.
Munson, born the 22d of February. 1X07. Mr. and Mrs. Munson have three
sons, Lester J., Harold E. and Lawrence A., all three of whom were horn in
Sbelton and are boys of bright promise and future usefulness. Mr. Munson
is a member of the Woodmen of the World, and has been clerk of thai order
for the past nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Munson are extensively acquainted
in Mason and Thurston counties, as well as other parts of the stale, and no
couple has more or sincerer friends wherever known.
236 HISTORY OF THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
COLONEL JOHN W. LINCK.
Colonel John W. Linck, special agent LTnited Stat 
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